Final Report New Opportunities for Inland Waterways Across the North Sea Interreg IIIB North Sea Region Final Report New Opportunities for Inland Waterways Across the North Sea Nieuwe mogelijkheden voor binnenwateren in het Noordzeegebied PAGE Neue Perspektiven für Inlandswasserwege im Nordseeraum 02 03 Nye muligheter for vannveier rundt Nordsjøen Nya möjligheter för inlands-vattenvägar i Nordsjöområdet May 2006 Iseghem, West Vlaanderen - Industrial past Revitalised - Peat Harbour, Findorff, Bremen New life - Leeds & Livepool Canal Background The North Sea region has a large network of bigger vessels. At Trollhättan in Sweden inland waterways connecting the sea with the for example, the modern fl ight of 4 locks is hinterland. Historically this network, consist- paralleled by two earlier smaller disused lock ing of man-made canals, navigable rivers and fl ights, tracing the history of navigation at this lakes, was the major transport system in the spectacular site. However other waterways region, facilitating the movement of people received little investment and in some cases and goods between the coast and inland areas fell into disuse – for example the Bradford and between towns and cities and nearby rural Canal in West Yorkshire, England was closed regions. Waterways formed important trade in 1921, due to water supply and quality prob- routes in both the Roman and Viking periods. lems, as well as declining freight traffi c caused by competition from the railways. Originally natural water courses were used. However over time rivers and lakes were im- Since the Second World War there has been proved and regulated to facilitate navigation. a growing interest in navigable inland wa- For example in Roman Britain the Fossdyke terways, fuelled by the tourism and recrea- was constructed to link the Rivers Witham and tion opportunities they provide as well as an Trent in eastern England. With the indus- increasing awareness and interest in cultural trial revolution in the 18th & 19th centuries, heritage. Waterways provide opportunities for the pace of construction of new links grew tourism and recreation through water sports, rapidly. Artifi cial canals were built, often sailing and pleasure boat activity on the water involving the transfer of expertise and knowl- and angling, walking and cycling on the edge between the countries of the Region. banks. Visitors drawn to the waterways con- For example the draining of the Fenland area tribute to the economy of the waterway cor- in eastern England through the construction ridor through expenditure on local goods and of navigable channels was carried out in the services. The water environment is attractive 17th Century by Dutch engineers. In the 19th to developers, thus facilitating the regenera- Century, the Caledonian Canal in Scotland tion of waterside communities. (Studies have inspired the building of the Göta Canal across shown that residential property values can be Sweden by Baltzar von Platen. enhanced by at least 20 % through proximity to navigable waterways.) Waterways provide With the rise of rail and road transport in recreational opportunities for people close to the late 19th and early 20th century, many home, thus enhancing their health and well- waterways were enlarged to accommodate being and general quality of life. Finally in- Former Industrial use, River Aire, Leeds Telemark Canal - Historic past uses Telemark Canal - Now being developed for leisure use PAGE 04 land waterways have become a focus for social • In some cases navigable waterways sup- 05 development through their use for education ply hydro power, through plants at weirs and training and local initiatives in the fi elds and lock bypass channels. In others the of sustainable transport and public health. banks are used as sites for wind turbines. Towpaths often provide wayleave routes Structures such as locks, bridges, tunnels and for services, such as telecommunications or aqueducts on those waterways that haven’t electricity; been enlarged are prime examples of the built industrial heritage of the North Sea Region. • Wetland environments, supporting bio- Many of the smaller waterways are still operat- diversity, with a need to balance recreation ed on largely the same principles as they were with environmental considerations; when they were constructed, thus providing people with an insight into the living heritage • A focus for urban and rural regeneration. of these transport arteries. Of course there is potential incompatibility As well as the recreation & tourism and and confl ict between these various functions cultural heritage aspects, inland waterways that need to be managed. For example boating provide many other functions:- on inland waters can have adverse environ- mental impacts. Steps need to be taken to • Freight traffi c is still important on many minimise these effects, particularly in the light of the larger waterways, and there is now of new environmental legislation under the a growing interest in promoting the use of Water Framework Directive. smaller waterways for transport e.g. for the movement of waste products and, in the case of the Netherlands, for the distribution of goods in cities; • Water management, through land drainage and fl ood control, as well as for water sup- ply and transfer; "REMEN Introduction to Canal Link PAGE 06 107 Falkirk Wheel, Scotland In 2002 a number of local authorities and to the implementation of a number of on-going navigation authorities in the North Sea Region waterway schemes. For example the develop- came together to look at how their waterways ment of waterway links between the northern could be better developed for tourism and Netherlands and adjacent parts of Germany recreation based on cultural and environ- (the “Land of Peat and Honey” scheme) are mental heritage. The project Canal Link was now being implemented, following the feasi- developed under the EU Interreg IIIB North bility studies undertaken through the Interreg Sea Region programme, with a total budget of IIC project. Similarly a pilot action on the € 5.1 million. Canal Link followed on from Union Canal in Scotland to develop water- an earlier project developed under the Inter- based activities for children during the school reg IIC programme called “Spatial Integration holidays has evolved into much larger on-go- through Linking Waterways”, led by Provincie ing scheme throughout the Lowlands canals in Drenthe in the Netherlands, which ran from Scotland. 2000 to 2001. Completion of this project led Three of the partners in the Interreg IIC project Provincie Noord-Holland (Netherlands) – sup- – British Waterways (UK), Provincie Noord- porting the work of Gemeente Langedijk. 1 Holland) (Netherlands) and Stichting Recre- atietoervaart Nederland (Netherlands) – came Freie Hansestadt Bremen (Germany) – reinstat- PAGE together to establish the new partnership, ing the old peat canal network between the 08 which now consists of 8 organisations:- city of Bremen and the nearby Teufelsmoor region. 09 British Waterways (UK) – lead partner in the project, with a specifi c interest in the canals in Telemark Fylkeskommune (Norway) – with an Scotland (Caledonian, Forth & Clyde and Un- interest in further developing the Telemark Ca- ion Canals in particular) and West Yorkshire, nal for tourism, business development, and as England (Leeds & Liverpool Canal) a meeting place for local communities through cultural and recreational activities and facili- Provincie West-Vlaanderen (Belgium) – with ties, and preserving cultural heritage. a specifi c interest in the Roeselare Canal, in conjunction with Agentschap Waterwegen Länsstyrelsen Varmland (Sweden) – focussing en Zeekanaal NV (the Flanders Waterways on the recreational development of Lake Vän- Agency) ern and the canal and river systems entering the lake. Stichting Recreatietoervaart Nederland (Netherlands) – with a remit for the national All of the partners have involved a wide range development and improvement of recreation of local sub-partners in the project, to secure and water sports on inland waterways in the the maximum involvement and buy-in from Netherlands. stakeholders, including local authorities and other public bodies, the private sector and Gemeente Langedijk (Netherlands) – promot- voluntary organisations, including social ing the development of the canal network in enterprises. the municipality of Langedijk. &INLAND %STONIA .ORWAY 3WEDEN Telemark fylkeskommune Länsstyrelsen Värmland ,ATV ,ITHUANI BW Caledonian Canal 3COTLAND $ENMARK .ORTH BW Lowlands 3EA 0OLAND BW Leeds & Liverpool Canal Bremen )RELAND Gemeente Langedijk .ETHERLANDS 7ALES %NGLAND Provincie Noord-Holland SRN 'ERMANY Province West-Vlaanderen #ZECH2EPUBLIC "ELGIUM ,UXEMBURG Canal Link: Partner Organisations Canal Link therefore aims to investigate how • horizontal linkages between waterways and the region’s network of navigable waterways local communities for the development of can be further developed, based on the cul- economic activity. tural and environmental heritage of the wa- terways themselves. In particular the project Although the focus is on recreation and tour- focuses on the creation of:- ism, these aspects need to be managed to support, rather than be in confl ict with, other • linear linkages between waterways, includ- objectives, such as freight transport, water ing extensions to the network and the use management and urban and rural regenera- of the North Sea as a connection; and tion. Canal Link has three broad themes:- • Promotion and development of economic