Overview and Scrutiny: SCRUTINY REVIEW PANEL – RESPONSIBILITY AND MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL PUBLIC WATERWAYS 3 February 2014
Background The review panel was commissioned by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to identify the responsible agencies and how they work in partnership to maintain public waterways in terms of safety of public footpaths and what action plans are in place to inspect, monitor and maintain these areas.
The members of the panel present at the meeting were:
Councillor Azad Choudhry (Chair) Councillor Glyn Jenkins Councillor Neghat Khan Councillor Sally Longford Councillor Roger Steel
Evidence gathering The review panel based its findings and recommendations on desk-top research, background information and a presentation made at the meeting held on Monday 3 February 2014, by the following contributors:
Fay Bull - Flood Mitigation Manger ) Nottingham City Council John Lee - Senior Rights of Way ) Sean McGinley - Canal and River Trust
The panel is grateful to these individuals for their contribution to the review.
Key findings
1. Local context
1.1 The responsible partners who maintain and manage the public waterways in Nottingham are:
The Canal and River Trust who maintain the canal and the footpaths running alongside it; Nottingham City Council as the Highway Authority is responsible for the upkeep of public Rights of Way (RoW); The Environment Agency is the consenting body for large schemes on rivers etc and creating footpaths on flood banks; The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust maintains the Fairham Brook public right of way in partnership with Nottingham City Council through a service level agreement.
1.2 It can be difficult to identify who owns/ is responsible for what alongside watercourses. For example, the Canal and River Trust is only responsible for the Report of the responsibility and management of public waterways - Scrutiny Review Panel 1 3 February 2014
bridges they own and for maintaining the towpaths running alongside the canal. The Canal and River Trust also maintains the canal by removing debris etc and offensive graffiti is generally removed within 7 days.
1.3 The public is only allowed to use canal towpaths on a permissive basis. If a towpath is advertised as a cycle route then it has to be maintained to the correct safety standards with hazards such as low bridges being clearly marked.
1.4 The Council is responsible for public RoW and has to comply with national legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act. Its duties are:
to ensure the safety of users on RoW; to maintain the footpaths to a standard consistent with daily use for example a bridleway should be safe for horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians; lighting is discretionary and dependent on location, potential impact on the environment and nearby properties, budgets and any previous crime or anti social behaviour issue.
1.5 Nottingham has over 15 miles of RoW along watercourses which comprise bridleways, footpaths with an annual maintenance cost of approximately £50,000. These RoW include:
The River Trent (Clifton and Wilford); Fairham Brook (Clifton and Silverdale); River Leen (Basford and Bulwell); Nottingham and Beeston Canal (Lenton, Dunkirk and Beeston).
1.6 The Big Track is a 10 mile circular route opened in 2005 which runs between Trent Bridge and Beeston Marina alongside the River Trent and canal. It was developed in partnership with Canal and River Trust (formerly British Waterways), University of Nottingham and Broxtowe Borough Council. It was funded through external grants and the Nottingham City Council Local Transport Plan and to date has cost £3.5 million to create and maintain.
1.7 The Environment Agency is responsible for main rivers such as the River Trent and River Leen. However, the land running alongside these rivers may be privately or council owned where the riparian (an owner of land along a river) would be responsible for maintenance.
2 Case studies
2.1 River Trent - during the floods in 2000 a bridleway alongside the River Trent was damaged and a cyclist fell off his bicycle which resulted in a personal injury claim against the Council. The bridleway had not been inspected following the flood and since this incident the Council now carries out inspections following flooding as soon as practicable. Any erosion or damage is repaired as soon as possible. Any bridleway which is not fit for purpose is closed until it can be repaired. Any footpaths that are vulnerable to flooding are monitored and when river banks erode footpaths are moved but there are a limited number of times this can be done. There has only been one known incident of personal injury claim in the last 13 years.
Report of the responsibility and management of public waterways - Scrutiny Review Panel 2 3 February 2014
2.2 Fairham Brook – the sides of the brook eroded significantly in 2009 which threatened to undermine the stability of the foot/cycle path. The Environment Agency worked with local community to carry out repairs using willow kids. Willow kids are easy to install and whilst improving the stability of the bank they also provide a natural habitat for wildlife. These are bundles of willow wood tied together and secured to the bank surface to slow the flow of water and collect sediment. Willow is also planted and will root and grow which further stabilises the bank. However, these require maintenance which is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.
2.3 River Leen – during 2010 improvements to the access to the River Leen were carried out with Green Infrastructure Funding which has enabled the bridleway to be extended towards Bulwell Town Centre and improved wildlife habitats for water voles.
2.4 Colwick Footbridge – a joint project by Nottingham City Council and Gedling Borough Council to build a footbridge across ‘the Loop’ should be in place early 2014. As it is located in the Trent floodplain it has been designed to withstand flooding events and future maintenance will be carried out by the Bridges and Structures Team at Nottingham City Council.
3 Strategies and Action Plans
3.1 As part of the development of the 2nd Rights of Way Improvement Plan1 (ROWIP) (due 2014) a consultation took place including a user survey to identify where citizens like to walk, cycle and ride and the type of new RoW citizens would like to see created in Nottingham as well as the main reasons they use RoW. This is to ensure that resources are focused on the places people prefer to walk and ride. The results showed that people preferred to visit the Trent Valley Way, Fairham Brook and River Leen and would like to see more paths being created along rivers and canals. The reasons for using RoW included personal enjoyment, health and exercise, visiting open spaces as well as regularly travelling to work. The ROWIP also sets out the process for surveying all the structures on the network so that they are fit for purpose.
3.2 The Canal and River Trust has published its strategic priorities in a document called ‘Shaping our Future’2 which highlights its:
(1) Vision3 - A sustainable and evolving canal and river network that is a national treasure – accessible to and cherished by all.
(2) Purpose - To act as guardian for the canals and rivers of England and Wales – ensuring that history, nature and communities are central to everything we do.
(3) Mission - to inspire people to connect with our canals and rivers.
1 Information relating to RoW and plans can be viewed via this link http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/rightsofway 2 The strategy document can be viewed via this link on the Canal and River Trust website http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us 3 Page 4 of the strategic (link in footnote 1)
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3.3 The objectives in the Strategic Plan for the East Midlands Waterways Partnership4 include the following objectives:
(1) Developing a stronger sense of community ownership and responsibility, changing perceptions of the waterways within the East Midlands – this includes having regular fun days along canals and working with schools to encourage positive interactions from children.
(2) Making waterways accessible and relevant to all communities so that they become highly valued forms of green infrastructure.
(3) Improving the health and wellbeing of the local communities – specific discussions are taking place with the Council on how best to address the issue of speeding cyclists through the city centre access, to ensure the towpath is safe for all to use.
(4) Making canals and rivers more sustainable and accessible to support greater economic growth and innovation in the East Midlands.
(5) Working with others to realise the full regeneration potential that the canals and rivers can bring to local communities and businesses – for Nottingham this includes reviewing the option of a waterbus.
(6) Attracting investment into the waterway corridors and instilling a strong sense of ownership and responsibility by riparian landowners, waterside businesses and potential investors.
(7) Making the canals and rivers in the East Midlands welcoming and interesting places to visit, live, work, use and enjoy – this includes locality studies to identify the opportunities for, and barriers to, better use and enjoyment of particular waterways. On the basis of this work, projects will be developed with local communities and partners, including installing signs at bridge crossings to make people aware of the waterways and interpretation and signage for visitors and users.
3.4 The Canal and River Trust has also published its Business Plan (operating plan) for 2014 -17 which broadly aligns with the strategic themes in the Plan (Shaping our Future). This includes details of income generated from boating and moorings etc as well as waterway maintenance, repair and major works.
3.5 Canals and towpaths are inspected every 28 days and recently castle lock (Nottingham) was emptied to carry out repairs. There is a regular programme for maintenance and repair of canals and locks. Currently there are discussions taking place to jet wash some of the bridges where pigeons have settled and are making a lot of mess. It is then proposed to install pigeon spikes to prevent them nesting under the arches of the bridges.
4 Page 18 of the Strategic Waterway Plan – East Midlands Waterway Partnership – this document can be viewed via this link http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/noticeboards/east-midlands-waterways/our-plan
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4. Panel findings
4.1 It is acknowledged that the Council relies on citizens using public footpaths to report any damage, littering or graffiti as it would need a full time inspector to inspect all the footpaths on a regular basis. However, it is felt that there should be clear signage on footpaths detailing who is responsible and who to phone to report any issues or concerns. Hazard signs such as low head height due to low bridges on the canal should be checked and maintained. Signage is important and the Council and Canal and River Trust need to inspect and maintain them (already included in the Strategic Waterway Plan by the East Midlands Waterway Partnership).
4.2 The Council’s website search facility needs to be updated with key words so that citizens can quickly find the rights of way pages and to improve the web page reporting facility so that they can email or report issues direct online.
4.3 The success of the Big Track needs to be actively promoted to raise awareness and remind citizens of this route by the canal into the city centre as well as the different footpaths open to citizens.
4.4 Dog fouling on public footpaths is an issue and costs on average £5.00 to clean up each mess and a publicity campaign is being run jointly with Parks and Open Spaces to educate citizens about this.
4.5 It isn’t always clear which partner is responsible for what; for example, bridges over the canal, which could be either the Canal and Rivers Trust or the Council. So it would be helpful if this information could be sent to councillors given the issue raised about the offensive graffiti on the bridge near the Showcase cinema.
5 CONCLUSION
The Panel is appreciative of the information and support provided by the contributors at the scrutiny review panel meeting and recognised that identifying ownership and responsibility for maintenance of footpaths etc is not straightforward. The Council and Canal and River Trust have common strategic objectives to promote community wellbeing, regeneration and developing quality green spaces. Although they do not have shared regular meetings, the Big Track partnership working is an exemplar of good practice.
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) Desired outcome – more citizen awareness about public rights of way with easy access to information and a clear, easy to use complaints procedure.
that the Flood Mitigation Manager for the Council is asked to ensure that the Council’s website is updated to a) include key words (for searches) to improve the accessibility of the rights of way web pages; b) publish the contact details for the Council and its partners and c) improving the online reporting system for complaints regarding littering, graffiti etc. Report of the responsibility and management of public waterways - Scrutiny Review Panel 5 3 February 2014
(2) Desired outcome – that footpath signage clearly informs citizens about which authority is responsible for maintenance and repair etc
that the Council and the Canal and River Trust are asked to ensure that the signage on footpaths clearly shows which authority to contact to report problems or issues, and includes the relevant contact details.
(3) Desired outcome – that citizens are aware of footpaths/cycle paths/bridleways and towpath routes
that promotion and publicity about these routes including the Big Track is ongoing through the various media open to the Council including the Arrow and web pages.
Contact details If you would like to find out more about this review and/ or overview and scrutiny in general please contact:
Nottingham City Council Overview and Scrutiny Team: 0115 8764313 or 0115 8764315 Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG [email protected] / [email protected] www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/overviewandscrutiny
If you require this information in an alternative language, large font, Braille, audio tape or text only version, please contact the Overview and Scrutiny Team (contact details above).
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