s Water-Based Sport and Recreation: the facts School of the Environment University of Brighton Brighton BN2 4GJ WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS Prepared for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Countryside Division) & British Waterways Countryside Agency Countryside Council for Wales Environment Agency Sport England The Research Team Professor Andrew Church, University of Brighton Professor Nigel Curry, University of Gloucestershire Dr Neil Ravenscroft, University of Brighton Dr Niall Burnside, University of Brighton Dr Paul Fish, University of Brighton Dr Chris Joyce, University of Brighton Denise Hill, University of Brighton Trevor Smith, Hill-Smith Associates Peter Scott, Peter Scott Planning Services Susan Markwell, Independent Research Services Brenda Mobbs, Underline Marketing Solveig Grover, Graphic Design This report has been prepared for DEFRA. It should not be relied upon by any third party, or reproduced in any form without permission. ii WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS Contents Executive summary vi Section A. Introduction 1 Context, aims, methods, data and definitions 1.1 Context 1 1.2 Study Aims 2 1.3 Research Team 3 1.4 Research Tasks and Report Structure 3 1.5 The main research methods 3 1.6 The Geographic Decision Support System 4 1.7 Data layers and data definition 5 1.8 Spaces and features not included in the GDSS 5 1.9 Collating data for the GDSS 6 2 Legal and Regulatory Framework 2.1 Introduction 8 2.2 Government Policy on the Provision of Facilities for Water-Based Sport and Recreation 8 2.3 Public rights and inland waters - Rights of passage in navigable waters 10 2.4 Public rights and inland waters - Rights of fishing 11 2.5 Private Rights and Inland Water 11 2.6 The ‘Known About’ Resource 12 2.7 The Impact of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 12 2.8 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 - Water resources and maps of open country 13 2.9 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 - Dedication Under s.16 13 2.10 The impact of the new nature conservation regulations 13 2.11 The role of Rights of Way Improvement Plans and Local Access Forums 14 2.12 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 - Access Agreements 14 2.13 Implications of the Current Legal and Regulatory Framework 15 Section B. The Facts 3. The Consumption of Water-based Sport and Recreation 3.1 Introduction 17 3.2 Current levels of participation 17 3.3 Participation characteristics: the trip and the user 19 3.4 Consumption trends 20 3.5 Disability and social inclusion 20 3.6 The relative popularity of different water-based sport and recreation 22 3.7 Sport and recreation types - Static participation 22 3.8 Sport and recreation types - Declining participation 23 3.9 Sport and recreation types - Growing participation. 24 3.10 Evidence of latent demand 25 3.11 Barriers and constraints to participation 26 3.12 Travel and Transport 27 3.13 Summary 28 iii WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS 4 The water sport and recreation resource 4.1 The inland water resource - canals and rivers 30 4.2 The inland water resource - enclosed waters 34 4.3 The inland water resource - launching and mooring facilities 35 4.4 The inland water resource - clubs and other facilities 37 4.5 The inland water resource and urban settlements 38 4.6 The inland water resource and environmental designation 40 5.7 Summary 43 5 The use of the water resource for sport and recreation 5.1 Introduction 44 5.2 The use of enclosed waters and rivers 44 5.3 The use of major rivers and canals 45 5.4 Current use of space - angling 46 5.5 Current use - different angling types 48 5.6 Aspiration spaces - Angling 51 5.7 Current use of space - canoeing 51 5.8 Aspiration spaces - canoeing 54 5.9 Current use of space - sailing and windsurfing 54 5.10 Aspiration spaces - sailing and windsurfing 55 5.11 Current use - rowing 56 5.12 Aspiration spaces - rowing 56 5.13 Current use - water-skiing 57 5.14 Aspiration spaces - water-skiing 58 5.15 Current use of space - scuba diving 58 5.16 Aspiration space - scuba diving 60 5.17 Current use of space - cruising and canal boats 60 5.18 Aspiration space - cruising and canal boats 61 5.19 Current use and aspiration - Power boating and personal water craft 62 5.20 Current use and aspiration - Swimming 62 5.21 Current use and aspiration - Dragon boating and triathlon 62 5.22 Shared and sole use of enclosed waters 62 5.23 Overused and underused spaces and hot spots 63 5.24 Aspiration spaces 64 5.25 Unused waters – suitability analysis 64 5.26 Summary 66 Section C - The Issues 6 Access arrangements and agreements 6.1 Introduction 69 6.2 The nature of access arrangements and agreements 69 6.3 Access arrangements – Satisfaction and dissatisfaction 71 6.4 Changes to access agreements - Attitudes and perceptions 73 6.5 Summary – Access as a constraint on supply participation 74 7 The environment and water-based sport and recreation 7.1 Inland water spaces and environmental designations – current use 76 7.2 Water spaces and environmental designation – aspiration spaces 77 7.3 Water quality and the supply of water spaces 79 7.4 The relations between environmental bodies and water sports and recreation - attitudes and perceptions 79 7.5 The evidence on the environmental impacts of water based-sport and recreation 80 iv WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS 8 Water spaces, relations between users and governance 8.1 Water spaces and conflict 81 8.2 Water spaces and conflicts – canoeing 81 8.3 Water spaces and conflicts – angling 82 8.4 Water spaces and conflicts – other sports 82 8.5 Conflict between water and bankside users 83 8.6 Water conflict and water sport and recreation governance 84 9 Synthesis: Issues, Implications and Possible Solutions 9.1 The major issues 86 9.2 Participation in and latent demand for water-based sport and recreation activities 86 9.3 Imbalances in the supply of resources for water-based recreation 87 9.4 Local and regional planning and strategy issues 88 9.5 The impact of conservation designations 89 9.6 Conflict and conflict resolution 89 9.7 Rights and responsibilities 90 9.8 Administration and regulation of access to inland water 91 9.9 Barriers to participation 92 9.10 Key Implications Arising from the Issues 93 9.11 Current Users of Inland Water 93 9.12 Current Non-Users of Inland Water 94 9.13 Water Recreation and Nature Conservation 95 9.14 Options for addressing the Issues 96 9.15 Possible Scenarios for Change 96 9.16 Assessing the Scenarios 97 9.17 Evaluation Tests 97 9.18 Minor development of current planning policy and strategies 97 9.19 Targetted purchase of services and revised funding arrangements 98 9.20 The Targetted Acquisition of Land and Water Rights 98 9.21 Voluntary Agreements 99 9.22 Voluntary Agreements with Dedication 100 9.23 Compulsory Access Orders 100 9.24 A Selective Increase in Statutory Rights of Navigation 101 9.25 Statutory Rights of Navigation to all Major Rivers, Canals and Water Bodies 101 9.26 Meeting the needs of existing and potential users- Existing Users 102 9.27 Potential Users 103 9.28 Recreation and Conservation 103 9.29 Conclusions 104 10 Conclusion 10.1 Research findings 105 10.2 Policy structures and mechanisms for supplying access to inland water 106 10.3 Data requirements for achieving more effective decision-making 107 10.4 The potential application of the GDSS 108 Appendix 1 109 Appendix 2 120 Appendix 3 121 References 123 v WATER-BASED SPORT AND RECREATION: THE FACTS Executive Summary Section A: background § This report is produced as a final output of the research project Water-based sport and recreation: the facts. The research followed from a meeting, hosted by officials from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, with representatives from groups interested in water sport and recreation. The meeting participants agreed that there was a need to establish some clear facts about current levels of participation and the extent of problems about access to water for sport and recreation. DETR (now Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)) awarded a research contract in February 2001 to a consortium led by the University of Brighton. The project was also sponsored by British Waterways, Countryside Agency, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency and Sport England. § Concerns about recreational access to inland water in England and Wales have been evident for many years. While having potential as a recreational resource it has been noted that there are a number of issues to address: opening more inland waters to public navigation; addressing the conflicts between navigators and anglers; and removing uncertainties about the legal position of public rights of navigation. § Public rights of navigation and water available for licensed navigation amount to 4 700 km of inland canals and major rivers in England and Wales (approximately a quarter of the major river and canal network). Just over 40% of this resource is within 15 km of a major urban area. It is however unevenly distributed, with a relatively high per capita resource in East Anglia and a low per capita resource in the South East of England. § The navigation rights on the remaining major river and canal network are privately owned, usually by those owning the adjacent watersides.