Waterways Strategy 2012-2020
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Rural Development Programme for England/LEADER East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire (Ryedale District and Scarborough Borough) Coast,LEADER W olds,Local Action W Groupetlands & Waterways Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways East Riding & North Yorkshire Waterways Partnership WATERWAYS STRATEGY 2012-2020 The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways Development: Europe investing in rural areas ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements This is a Partnership Strategy that has been driven by, and written for, its members. As such, thanks go to all partners that have contributed throughout the strategy development process, on a formal and informal basis. Without this willingness to share issues and opportunities and balance priorities, the creation of this document would not have been possible. Thank you to members of the Community and Technical Forums for the consistent input into the document, and the shaping of its outcomes, priorities and objectives. Thank you to everyone else that has made comments on the document or who has had an involvement in its production. Thank you to the LEADER CWWW Local Action Group for developing the Partnership, for their vision in identifying the potential that the area’s waterways possess and for providing funding for the Partnership, and the projects that is has been able to support. Thank you to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for hosting Partnership staff, and for providing crucial ongoing support to the Partnership’s development. Thank you to North Yorkshire County Council, Scarborough Borough Council and Ryedale District Council for their involvement and support. Finally, thank you to the Partnership Executive Committee for their ongoing direction and guidance. Many members of the Committee volunteer significant amounts of time to the Partnership, and have championed the potential of its waterways over a number of years. It is through their determination and commitment that the Partnership’s successes have been possible. James Cokeham. LEADER CWWW East Riding & North Yorkshire Waterways Partnership Coordinator. 19th September 2012. Leven Canal: Paul Harrop_ http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1345940 Cover Photo Boynton Duck Race: Lizzie Myhill WATERWAYS STRATEGY 2012-2020 I FOREWORD FOREWORD Foreword In spite of years of setbacks to their plans, forty eight Driffield residents attended a recent meeting of the town’s newly formed canal partnership to show their enthusiasm for re-opening the whole length of the Driffield Navigation for public use. The Pocklington Canal Amenity Society and a small steering group associated with the Market Weighton canal are pressing forward with plans to stimulate economic and social benefits to their respective communities. People in Snaith, a small town near Selby, are well ahead with a scheme to make the banks of the river Aire more attractive to visitors. In Goole there is an established project using waterway related activities to help young people prepare themselves for work. Further north, the East Yorkshire Rivers Trust, Carrs Partnership and local residents and professionals connected with the river Hertford, a modified waterway adjacent to the Mesolithic site of Starr Carr, are wanting to make the best of opportunities for tourism without losing sight of their obligations to the natural world. Five years ago these projects and several more like them in east and north Yorkshire were working in isolation and sometimes in competition, a state of affairs which was a serious hindrance to rural economic development. With commendable foresight and imagination, members and officers in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire County Council adopted a plan to secure LEADER funding from Europe to remedy the problems. In addition to many local benefits, the initiative has resulted in the establishment of an East Riding and North Yorkshire Waterways Partnership, the future development of which is the subject of the present document. Under the leadership of its full time co-ordinator and the guidance of an elected executive committee representing different waterways interests, the partnership has a record of providing local projects with expertise and advice indispensable to their needs and ambitions. It is well placed to expand the work by building on what has already been achieved and by embracing new ideas to tackle old problems. I hope this Strategy will be read by everyone in the region who wishes to see the inland waterways reclaim their importance in public policy. It is an example to the nation. Bob Watson MBE. East Riding & North Yorkshire Waterways Partnership Chair. 26th October 2012. Swan: David Croft II WATERWAYS STRATEGY 2012-2020 WATERWAYS STRATEGY 2012-2020 III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary The document goes on to define what the Partnership has to become in order to deliver these ‘thematic outcomes’. These ‘crosscutting outcomes’ are outlined through completing the sentence ‘Our Partnership is…’: The ‘Waterways Strategy 2012-2020’ (the Strategy) sets out a long term strategic approach to the development of the inland waterways that fall within the East Riding & North Yorkshire Waterways Partnership (the Partnership). • …equipped to ‘do the job’; It aims to balance and coordinate multiple ambitions for these waterways for the benefit of everyone. • …sustainable and appropriately funded; • …able to deliver local projects effectively; The Partnership brings together different organisations with an interest in the area’s waterways to agree a • …inclusive and reflects the communities that it seeks to serve; collaborative approach to their economic, environmental and social regeneration. It was originally commissioned, • …geographically flexible; and is currently funded, by the LEADER Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways (CWWW) Local Action Group, and • …an open and effective communicator; and therefore works within the LEADER CWWW programme area. This includes the majority of the East Riding of • …able to influence relevant local, regional and national policy. Yorkshire, along with parts of Scarborough Borough and Ryedale District in North Yorkshire. The Partnership is hosted by East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Delivery of the Strategy will be coordinated and achieved through the draft Delivery Plan which accompanies the document. The Delivery Plan presents a range of practical objectives that underpin the Strategy’s outcomes and The character of, and challenges facing, the Partnership’s inland waterways differ from those facing the wider ‘national priorities. This will be the primary tool through which progress against, and achievement of, the Strategy is monitored network’ of UK inland waterways. The term ‘inland waterways’ is most commonly associated with navigable canals, and measured throughout its lifespan. yet the Partnership contains a diversity far broader than this relatively narrow definition. Presently, the Partnership includes the following waterways: The Partnership’s waterways hold a wealth of unrealised potential. The Partnership seeks to unlock these benefits and use waterways as a tool to add significantly to quality of life in the East Riding and North Yorkshire, contributing to economic, social and environmental regeneration. Since its establishment in 2011, the Partnership has made Aire & Calder Navigation Driffield Navigation Dutch River considerable progress. Through the adoption of this Strategy we hope that much more can be achieved and many more benefits can be delivered. Gypsey Race Hedon Haven Hornsea Mere Leven Canal For further information on the Partnership, please visit: http://ruralprogrammes.eastriding.gov.uk/leader/funded-projects/waterways-partnership Market Weighton Canal Pocklington Canal River Aire River Derwent River Foulness River Hertford River Hull River Ouse The Partnership is governed by an agreed constitution that formalises its structure and working processes. Central to this are the Community Forum, Technical Forum and Executive Committee, which all meet on a quarterly basis. The forums are open arenas, which can be attended by any organisation that supports the aims and objectives of the Partnership and agrees to work within its constitution. The Executive Committee is democratically elected by the Partnership membership for a period of two years; the group identifies priorities and resolves issues amongst different interests. This Strategy is a key milestone in the ongoing development of the Partnership. It has been driven by, and written for, Partnership members. It represents collective agreement of outcomes, priorities and objectives, making it the framework through which the Partnership will work to realise ‘the potential of the area’s waterways’ between 2012 and 2020. The document is supported by a detailed set of Waterway Information Templates that provide an evidence base upon which this Strategy has been developed. The Strategy sets out seven ‘thematic outcomes’, from which priorities are established. These simply state what the Partnership seeks to achieve, and complete the sentence ‘Our waterways are…’: • …catalysts for economic growth and resilience; • …outdoor classrooms, social resources and places to escape, relax and unwind; • …modern sustainable transport routes; for business and pleasure; • …open and accessible sites for sport and recreation; • …precious, yet finite, water resources that benefit our communities; • …havens for nature and wildlife; and • …powerful reminders of a rich industrial, agricultural and social