Boaters' Update June 2011

Transition trustees and head of fundraising appointed to the new waterways charity

The founding trustees have been appointed for the new waterways charity (NWC) that will take over the running of BW’s canals, rivers and docks in England and Wales from April 2012. The eight trustees bring a wealth of senior level experience of managing heritage, volunteering, leisure, boating and commercial interests.

In addition to taking important initial decisions such as deciding the charity’s name, one of the trustees' key tasks will be to agree a long term funding contract with government for the valuable range of public benefits that the charity and its waterways will deliver to the nation.

Tony Hales, BW’s chairman, has been appointed to chair the charity’s founding trustee directors and the other founding trustees are: Lynne Berry, boat owner and chief executive of WRVS; John Bridgeman, BW’s vice chairman and leading expert in competition and fair trading; Jane Cotton, change management expert and HR director of Oxfam; John Dodwell, long-term waterways campaigner and former chair of the Commercial Boat Operators Association; Tom Franklin, leading advisor on open spaces and chief executive of the Ramblers; Nigel Hugill, BW board member and property expert and Simon Thurley, historian and chief executive of English Heritage.

Tony Hales comments: “We have championed a ‘national trust’ for the waterways for some time and I am absolutely delighted to have been asked to chair the new charity. It is the right route to protect and develop the waterways and will give communities a greater role in managing their local canal or river. The change will help ensure a more sustainable future for this important national treasure.”

“The calibre of trustees that have been attracted to give their time and expertise is testament to the high regard given to the nation’s precious waterways. A mix of five new trustees and three from BW’s existing board will inject new energy and ideas as we set up the new waterways charity, and will ensure a smooth transition from public ownership.”

In addition, the appointment of Ruth Ruderham as the first ever head of fundraising for the new charity is another major step. Ruth has more than a decade of fundraising experience and will come to the new waterways charity from Christian Aid, where she has helped them to grow income beyond £100m for the first time in their history. She has also previously worked at Friends of the Earth and Crisis, and in 2005 was named Professional Fundraiser of the Year.

Ruth says: “I am delighted to join BW at this critical stage in the history of the waterways and it is an incredible privilege to be the first fundraiser the new charity will ever employ. The plans that BW has already developed are really exciting and I can't wait to start recruiting supporters of this unique and important cause.”

Read more about the new Transition Trustees

Read more about the new head of fundraising

Read BW’s chief executive’s blog giving the latest news and his views on the journey towards the new waterways charity and BW’s chairman’s latest blog about working with the new Transition Trustees.

National waterways bodies to join together

Agreement has been reached in principle for The Waterways Trust to merge its operations with the planned new waterways charity (NWC) when it is established in England & Wales next year.

The merger will enable The Waterways Trust and NWC to pool their strengths and resources in creating a unique new national charity to engage with supporters, partners and funders. By joining forces the organisations will bring together over 2,000 miles of historic canals, rivers and docks, three important waterways museums, the national waterways collection and national waterway archives.

The merger will ensure that NWC will be able to draw on an enormous pool of experience and expertise in disciplines ranging from engineering and conservation to marketing, fundraising, volunteering and education.

In Scotland, where the waterways will remain in public ownership, The Waterways Trust will continue to grow its reach and influence focussing on the needs of Scotland’s waterways, working with BW Scotland and its many stakeholders.

Tony Hales, chairman designate of the new waterways charity, said: “This is tremendous news and will ensure that a very large part of the country’s precious waterway heritage will be held in trust for the nation. The joining together of NWC and The Waterways Trust will give the new waterways charity an enormous boost, not just by combining the physical structures and artefacts that make the waterways so unique, but through the collective knowledge and passion that each organisation’s staff and volunteers bring with them.”

Frances Done, chairman of The Waterways Trust, added: “We are delighted to be able support the new waterways charity in this way. Over the last 12 years we have learnt many lessons which will be important for the new charity. We have also seen success in a number of key areas including fundraising, building partnerships and attracting and working with volunteers, and look forward to building on these as part of the new waterways charity. We are delighted also that the work of the Trust will continue in Scotland building on our considerable achievements and focussing on the needs of Scotland’s waterways.”

The full detail of the merger will be developed over the coming months, with TWT continuing with its programme of work.

Read more information about TWT and NWC joining together

The Iron Trunk Aqueduct needs your vote on Monday 27 June

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, ITV’s The People’s Millions invited local communities to bid for up to £60,000 of lottery money each, to fund 60 new projects which will improve local places or the lives of people in the community.

The Iron Trunk Aqueduct on the Grand Union Canal has made it through to the final six in the Anglia TV region. It will feature on ITV’s People’s Millions on Monday 27 June from 6pm, in the Anglia Tonight news programme. The phone number to use will be published on the People’s Millions website that morning.

The Iron Trunk Aqueduct project will celebrate the structure’s 200th anniversary by cleaning and repainting the cast iron structure in its original colours and is a very skilled job as it will take place high above the River Ouse.

The project also involves replacing information boards around the site for visitors, school children and canal users, as well as clearing vegetation to make the aqueduct more visible.

Read more about the Iron Trunk Aqueduct bid

Leeds Waterfront Festival

Looking for something to do this weekend? Leeds Waterfront Festival takes place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June 2011 and will feature live music, local bands, arts and dance, on the water fun, boat trips and much more at waterfront venues in Granary Wharf, Brewery Wharf, Clarence Dock and Thwaite Mills Watermill.

Look out for the 40ft long charity dragon boat races at Clarence Dock complete with 16 paddlers and a drummer all in amazing technicolour fancy dress!

For more information visit www.leedswaterfrontfestival.com.

Droitwich water festival details announced

A date for your diary for next month. The Droitwich Canals are due to open on Friday 1 July and to celebrate the momentous occasion, Vines Park in Droitwich will be playing host to a water festival. The highlight of the weekend will be the huge display of canal and working boats in the park.

David Wheeler from Droitwich Canals Trust, says: “The opening of the Droitwich Canals is the culmination of 38 years’ hard work by volunteers and more than 11 years by the Droitwich Canals Restoration Partnership.

“This is a historic moment for Droitwich Spa and will give a major boost to the local economy and hopefully the weekend packed with entertainment for everyone will be the first of many festivals to come.”

The celebrations start at the opening event on Friday, and there are more activities scheduled during the main festival on Saturday and Sunday. Highlights include trips on the Droitwich Canal Trust’s trip boat Pamela May, canoe taster sessions and guided walks to Hanbury Wharf, Dodderhill Tower and the nature reserve at Salwarpe. There will also be a boat parade, live music, and a firework display in the evening.

Highlights on Sunday include an Activity Zone at Netherwich Basin offering archery, angling demonstrations, canoeing, cycle agility trail, battle zone and guided cycle rides. Music fans will enjoy Tom Hill’s Straightjackets, the Worcester Youth Jazz Orchestra and the finale of the weekend’s festivities will be an evening with popular Irish folk group Roving Crows.

Read more details about the Droitwich water festival

Crick Boat Show – a resounding success

Over 21,000 visitors and a sell-out of floating exhibitor space helped make the 2011 Crick Boat Show the best for years. Many exhibitors reported record sales, the daily trip boats were fully booked and the new ghost tours were a great hit. The daily seminars were very popular showing a wide ranging and lively interest in the future of the new waterways charity, as well as an eagerness to learn about boat buying and boat ownership.

The 2011 show was a brand new partnership between BW and Waterways World magazine. “I’m delighted with the new format” reported BW’s marketing director, Simon Salem, and Peter Johns, Waterways World managing director, said: “The public turnout and trade customer feedback made all the effort we put into the new format show really worthwhile.”

Discussions between the two partners are now turning to how the show can be even further enhanced with a major announcement expected by the end of July.

Olympics countdown

If you weren’t successful in the first ballot for Olympic tickets then you may well have struck gold today, as the second round of ticket allocation was launched at 6am this morning. Regardless of whether you have secured Games tickets yet, you can still reserve a mooring for London 2012 at www.waterscape.com/londonboats2012.

Moorings are available in the heart of the capital, some within walking distance of the Olympic Park, and close to transport hubs, bringing your boat to London will be a great way to experience the atmosphere in the city.

And if sport isn’t your thing, remember the programme for the London 2012 Festival has some amazing art, music and theatrical offerings http://festival.london2012.com. There are moorings available next to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, a designated ‘live-site’ where you will be able to watch all the action on big screens and enjoy a whole host of entertainment.

Boat checker update

During May, customers reported 96 sightings of unlicensed boats via the BW website. Of these, 17% have subsequently relicensed and a further 46% were already in BW’s enforcement process. 18% resulted in new cases being opened for action, and the remaining 19% were boats which were not identifiable through a valid boat index number but the details have been passed to BW’s enforcement teams for further investigation.

Visit the online boat checker

BW boat licence terms and conditions

Additional temporary conditions will apply to licences applicable to boaters using London waterways during the Olympics. Also, some minor changes have been made to general licence terms & conditions following the public consultation on the subject last winter which will apply to all licences valid from 1 August 2011. Details of both of these are published on www.britishwaterways.co.uk/license-it/licence-terms-and-conditions.

The text on the web page shows the conditions applicable to licences which expire on or before 31 July 2012 and the downloadable pdf shows the new terms. You can download a short document listing the changes.

Increased interest in volunteering

Fantastic news! The number of volunteers giving their time to BW over the past year has increased by 67 per cent. The public spent 24,234 days working with BW (financial year 2009/10: 14,586 days). The total monetary value of volunteering to the organisation in the financial year 2010/11 is calculated to be £1.6m.

BW’s national volunteering manager, Edward Moss, said: “There is a real appetite for volunteering on our waterways and we are delighted to welcome the increasing numbers of people who are prepared to give up some of their time to help look after this important national treasure.”
“Over the past year we have developed the range of opportunities on offer, from long standing tasks such as vegetation management, litter picking and helping look after and crew heritage working boats to taking on the role of volunteer lock keeper, getting involved in environmental surveys and painting locks.”

“There really is something for everyone. Across the country, local businesses and community groups have adopted sections of towpath and we now run regular working parties where people can drop by and try their hand at practical tasks, getting an outdoor workout into the bargain!”

To find out more about waterways volunteering, please visit www.waterscape.com/volunteering

Canal photography competition

And finally, as we prepare to transfer BW’s canals and rivers to a new waterways charity we’re going to say goodbye to waterscape and welcome a brand new website designed to meet the needs of the new organisation and its supporters.

We’re already putting together the content for the new site and deciding what to take from waterscape and what to leave out.

As well as providing information for boaters, businesses and regular waterway users, we need to use the new website to inspire people to visit their local waterway and get involved with the new charity. To achieve this we need some great pictures of the canals and rivers looking their best.

We’re giving you the chance to get involved in the new website from the very start. Your photos could be the stars of the new site and be admired by the hundreds of thousands of visitors the site will attract each year. We’re looking for photos of canal wildlife, walking parties, a day out on your bike or snaps of your boating holiday. Essentially we want to know what the canals mean to you.

To say thank you for your help we’ve teamed up with some of the top canal and heritage attractions across the country who have donated us a number of prizes.
To enter the competition please upload your photos to our flickr group or email them to feedback@waterscape.com. Let us know the title of your photo, the location and which prize you would like to win.

The closing date is 31 December 2011 and the competition winners will be announced in early January and prizes will be sent out in January.

For more information about the photo competition, prizes and terms & conditions

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Last updated: 24/06/2011