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Chairs appointed to trial Local Waterway Partnerships

6th Apr 2011

Chairs have been appointed to the two trial Local Waterway Partnerships, which will advise and influence the management of canals and rivers in the West Midlands and North West. These trial Partnerships, alongside a third trial already underway on the Kennet & Avon Canal, will work with local waterway managers until the new waterways charity becomes fully operational in 2012.

Peter Mathews CMG has been appointed to be the chair of the trial Partnership for the West Midlands. Peter is chair of the Black Country Consortium, which works to coordinate regeneration in the Black Country area of the West Midlands, and chairman and managing director of Black Country Metals. A prominent business leader, Peter has held the position of chair at various national and international organisations including The World Recycling Conference, UKTI Advanced Engineering and the Midlands World Trade Forum.

Peter said: “The Midlands’ canal system has a great story to tell and I welcome the opportunity to enable people in the West Midlands to have a real say in how these local waterways are run and to support their improvement and development.”

In the North West, Professor Steven Broomhead, professor of entrepreneurial education at Liverpool Hope University, is to be the chair of the trial Partnership. Steven previously spent eight years as chief executive at Northwest Regional Development Agency, prior to which he was chief executive at Warrington Borough Council. He has held the position of chair at a number of private and public organisations.

Safeguard the future

Steven said: “Our canals and rivers are an important part of our heritage and I am looking forward to working with the local waterway manager and the community to rejuvenate the North West waterways and to safeguard their future.”

Roger Hanbury, chief executive of The Waterways Trust, worked with David Fletcher, chair of the National Association of Boat Owners and the local waterway managers, Dean Davies in the West Midlands and Debbie Lumb in the North West, to find the chairs. He says: “I am delighted that Peter and Steven have been appointed to these positions. The Partnerships will have a huge influence on how local waterways shape up for the future, providing new perspectives and insights, opening up new resources and ideas, and giving local people a greater opportunity to support their local canals and rivers; something that is integral to the success of the new waterways charity. I am confident that Peter and Steven are well placed to champion the interests of the waterways.”

The chairs will now work with the local waterway management to fill a further seven member vacancies on each of the Partnerships, with the aim of having the Partnerships operational during May 2011. Further details about the positions and the application process will be announced shortly. In the meantime, expressions of interest can be emailed to Roger Hanbury at roger.hanbury@thewaterwaystrust.org.uk.

Subject to forthcoming consultation by Defra, each of the existing eleven administrative waterway regions in England and Wales will have Local Partnership Boards appointed by the new charity to guide local decisions. The trials being set-up now will provide important lessons ahead of 2012 about the scope of the charity’s Local Partnership Boards and how they should operate.

A written record of all meetings will be publicly available on the web. All positions on the Partnerships will be unpaid, but agreed expenses will be reimbursed.

Last updated: 07/04/2011

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