Central, South and West 9th August 2005 Area Committee
Briefing Note: Riverbank Maintenance
Recommendations: That Area Committee note the issues outlined in this report.
Report Author and Andrew Davies (Scrutiny Officer) Contact Details: 01865 252433 adavies@oxford.gov.uk
Background
The following report was presented to the Environment Scrutiny Committee on 18th July 2005. The Area Committee is asked to note the contents of the report and the meeting notes attached at Appendix 2.
Introduction
The Environment Scrutiny Committee has established a review group to look into the maintenance and improvement of the Thames riverbank and towpath from Iffley Lock to Godstow Lock, in response to concerns about their condition.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together riparian owners of the land between Iffley Lock and Folly Bridge to discuss the possibility of contributing to the Oxfordshire County Council led scheme to repair and improve the riverbank and towpath.
Background
The Central South and West Area Committee have undertaken a significant amount of work on this subject and commissioned a number of reports on the condition of the River Thames towpath between Iffley Lock and Godstow Lock. A Condition Survey has been carried out along the towpath highlighting the areas that are in urgent need of repair. The stretch of the Thames between Iffley Lock and Riverside Court need’s to be replaced over a 7-year period at a cost of £250,000.
The Thames towpath between Folly Bridge and Iffley Lock runs on land mainly owned by four organisations – Brasenose College, Queens College, University College and Oxford City Council. There are other, much smaller pieces of land owned by Hertford College, Pembroke College, Oxford Brookes University and Green King Breweries. There is also a small stretch where ownership is unknown. A map of the area will be available at the meeting on the 18th July.
The Present Situation
The review group has approached the university colleges who are riparian owners on the Thames to invite them to the Environment Scrutiny Committee on 18th July 2005. The purpose of the invite is to approach them regarding the funding for the repair work needed to the Thames riverbank and towpath.
The Thames towpath and riverbank between Riverside Court and Iffley Lock is in need of repair and the County Council has put together a 7-year programme for carrying out the work that’s needed. The programme is split into three phases:
• 130 metres of high priority works in 2004/05 • 160 metres of medium priority works in 2005/06 • 670 metres of low priority works 2006 onwards
The total estimated cost of this work is £250,000. The County Council had proposed that a funding partnership be set up to pay for this work, as they do not have the capital resources to fund all of the improvements. However, to date this approach has not been successful.
Central, South and West Area Committee gave University College planning permission on 16th June 2005 to re-build their boathouse on the Thames towpath. One of the conditions laid down to the College was that they should contribute £10,000 towards towpath repairs. Whilst the review group welcomes this contribution, it is one off payment rather then an ongoing contribution towards the maintenance of a city asset.
Due to the location and surrounding areas of scientific interest, the area around the towpath is unlikely to see many further developments. Therefore, S106 agreements of the sort negotiated with University College are unlikely to be a significant source of funding for towpath and riverbank repairs.
What has happened elsewhere?
Officers in the Strategy and Review Business Unit have contacted other local authorities to see how they manage their riverbanks and whether funding partnerships have been successful. Details of this work can be found at Appendix 1.
What the Review Group proposes?
The Riverbank Maintenance review group believe that action should be taken to repair and maintain the Thames riverbank and towpath. They also think that the most appropriate way to fund the work is for a funding partnership to be established, involving the landowners and the County Council.
The review group have bought this issue to back to the Environment Scrutiny Committee to seek their support. Representatives from the Oxford University Colleges and Oxfordshire County Council have been invited to the meeting to discuss this issues outlined in this report.
Appendix 1
Riverbank Maintenance Scrutiny Review
Good Practice Research
The Riverbank Maintenance review group requested that officers research examples of good practice in riverbank management in other local authority areas. The results are set out below.
Exeter City Council and Devon County Council
The situation on the Exe Estuary is quite simple as the Exeter Canal is mainly within the jurisdiction of Exeter City Council who run a service to maintain the banks and provide good public access (Jack Nott, River & Canal Manager at Exeter City Council). Exeter City Council employ contractors to undertake maintenance work, but the RSPB who own nearby land also undertake maintenance to a level agreed by the County Rights of Way dept and other partners. Below high water mark where the land is owned by the Crown Estate and leased to different organisations it gets more complicated when issues arise - hence the Exe Estuary Partnership facilitates communication between different landowners/interest parties where appropriate - but our remit is to implement a plan for the whole estuary and the surrounding area (see www.exe-estuary.org).
Durham City Council
The Riverbanks Management Group was set up in 1992. The partners are The Chapter of Durham Cathedral, The University of Durham, St Cuthbert's Society, St Johns College, St Chad's College, Hatfield College, The Environment Agency, Durham County Council, Durham City Council and Durham City Arts. The group has also benefited from advice from the City of Durham Trust and Local Council members. The Riverbanks Management Plan (the management plan is an electronic document that needs to be hosted on the web once ratified) is a strategic document to conserve and enhance the landscape, habitat, architecture, archaeology and wooded areas of the Durham Riverbanks. The plan aims to guide future initiatives and strategies. The group has already undertaken a number of schemes during the past twelve months to help improve and conserve this important part of the City including: • A re-survey of existing seating, identifying potential new seating sites, installation of four new sponsored seats each with commemorative plaques and replaced stolen commemorative plaque. • Re-surfacing of the footpath between the riverbanks Saddler Street entrance and Windy Gap. • Signing up to a partnership with the Environment Agency to treat giant hogweed on the River Wear. • Undertaken vegetation clearing and some garden re-design. • Continuous sweep of the riverbanks by volunteer litter pickers. • Acquired funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Riverbanks Gardens Project.
Bristol City Council.
Bristol Living Rivers Project Jointly sponsored by Bristol City Council and the Environment Agency
A Strategic Urban Water Partnership to promote and facilitate the sustainable management, development and use of rivers to maximise their environmental, social and economic benefits for the people of Bristol.
Aims
Environmental
• Make them visually attractive features of the landscape. • Protect and enhance existing natural habitats both in and around them for plants and animals.
Social
• Safeguard public health. • Increase local participation in their stewardship. • Increase civic pride and respect.
Economic
• Ensure effective drainage to prevent property flooding by sewer, fluvial or tidal flows. • Ensure their presence is taken full advantage of in new developments and the remodelling of existing landscapes and infrastructure The members of the project are:
• Bristol City Council • The Environment Agency • Wessex Water • WaterVoice • FutureWest • Forest of Avon
• Avon Wildlife Trust • VOSCUR • Clean and Green
The background - Bristol City Council Environmental Quality was historically part of the Environmental Health Department but has been reorganised to an extent that it is now in a planning, transport and sustainable development group with an emphasis on sustainability rather than it’s historic routes of public health. The unit specialise in environmental monitoring (air, water) and quality of life indicators in the team. The unit has a healthy relationship with local Environment Agency people and Wessex Water and has two longstanding working groups running- Operation Streamclean (finding and enforcing drainage wrong-connections) and the Harbour Study Group (water quality).
Development into BLR - A recognition of the Water Framework Directive (the Environment Agency's BRITES reorganisation providing environmental managers specifically for the Greater Bristol area for the first time) Environment Agency's vision etc fitted well with the feeling that the unit should take the opportunity to develop from purely monitoring to a more integrated/holistic approach to improving rivers in Bristol. The unit are not the competent authority for rivers but feels that it can provide the Agency the interface with the public. There is a steering group that includes the key stakeholders for rivers and by being a focus for rivers the group are finding out what we can do (BLR) to improve or facilitate river improvements and also clarify what others do/could do and try to mainstream as far as possible. There are many teams / departments that play a part in watercourses. Even within the council there are: engineers (land drainage of ordinary watercourses), flood defence strategy, land-use planners, highways, contaminated land, waste management, community safety, rights of way, community development officers, landscape design, community parks managers, local nature reserves, then there are key players such as Forest of Avon (v.active along rivers for interpretation, access & education), community groups, schools, local community trusts, ngo's that help the community.
Learning - The key drivers are common agendas/objectives (are they really complimentary, are they getting pressure from above, are they trying to hit their own targets, are they establishing new policies or service plans you can consult on, do you also help them too?) and budgets (some have clear boundaries on what is their responsibility (usually down to land ownership, responsibilities in law, what they've been used to doing, pressure on their own budget. This is particularly true of service delivery teams as opposed to strategy/policy teams)).
The community have been key. They can apply the pressure themselves or through their councillors. They have also been great net workers, which has aided the success of the project.
Cambridge City
The towpath in Cambridge appears to have a somewhat curious ownership status, much like the situation in Oxford at the moment. Whilst the river is ultimately the responsibility of the Environment Agency, the navigation in the vicinity of Cambridge is managed by the ‘Conservators of the Cam’, to whom the Environment Agency have passed most of their administrative functions. The Conservators own the towpath and are therefore responsible for it’s maintenance.
Complications have arisen however because the path is a public footpath over which the Conservators have granted permissive cycling rights. They do not have (or say they don’t have) sufficient money to maintain it in a condition fit for cycling. Cambridgeshire County Council have recently entered into an agreement with them to gain cycling rights on the path in return for a major upgrade of the surface. This was made possible by means of a grant from the Department for Transport and Sustrans (Sustainable Transport charity). The path will now become part of the National Cycle Network. The main advantage of this seems to be that they save on maintenance (and lessen their liability in the event of an accident) and County Council get a good cycle path along the river.
Cambridge University have had no involvement with the scheme and don’t appear to play any role in the maintenance of the towpaths. They are possibly the main beneficiaries from the work that has been done by the Conservators and Sustrans as rowing coaches cycle the path almost continuously, however, the University has yet to provide any form of funding for the scheme. Appendix 2
Environment Scrutiny Committee
18th July 2005
Riverbank Maintenance Notes
No obvious lead authority for the maintenance and repair of the Thames towpath and riverbank:
• Environment Agency is responsible for the river corridor • Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for towpath maintenance (delegated to City Council under Section 42 agreement) • The Countryside Agency is responsible for the Thames River Trail
The majority of the riverbank was reconstructed 50 years ago using concrete bag work. The water was able to get behind the concrete and wash out the infill material and the earth of the riverbank itself causing deterioration. The towpath was collapsing in stages and would eventually collapse completely given existing conditions. The last survey had been carried out two years ago and the situation had worsened since then.
Approximately half the 8km stretch from Godstow to Iffley Lock is in need of repair. The County Council plans to repair two or three areas in the autumn, but the scale of this work is relatively small.
The estimated cost for the work needed to the Towpath and riverbank is:
• Replacing the towpath between Iffley Lock and Godstow – £2.5 million (£1.5 million for the damaged sections) • Riverbank repairs (as set out in the County Council repair programme) - £250,000 +
Oxford City Council has drainage responsibilities for the streams around the Thames and existing budgets are used for ditch and stream clearance. City Works undertakes a limited amount of surface repair work on the towpath but the budget is severely limited. Riparian ownership of City Council land falls to the Leisure and Parks Department but their budgets were also overspent.
The Oxford University colleges represented at the meeting (Brasenose, University and Hertford) were taking advice on their liabilities with regard to riverbank and towpath maintenance. It was noted that this was an extremely complicated area, exacerbated by the fact that much of the land along the towpath wasn’t registered. A further piece of information on land ownership to emerge was that Brasenose College leased land to Queens College along the Thames (Queens College Sports Ground).
Following discussions, the Committee recommended the following course of action to the Riverbank Maintenance Review Group:
1. That a meeting is held in September 2005 (after the holiday period) bringing together interested parties to discuss responsibilities and funding opportunities to repair and maintain the Thames towpath and riverbank.
2. The following groups should be contacted about attending this meeting:
• Oxford City Council • Oxfordshire County Council • Country Side Agency • Environment Agency • Oxford University • Riparian Land Owners • Oxford University Student Union
3. Work should be done to identify possible sources of funding by the group, including sports funding (the river is used by University rowing teams), possibly linked to the London 2012 Olympics.
4. That the Waterways Partnership group is informed of the Scrutiny reviews progress to date and that they are included in future negotiations.