IWA campaigns for CRT funding
BW bridges such as this are on a ‘structures at risk’ list – photo: Waterway Images
INLAND WATERWAYS: Since Parliament resumed after the summer recess, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has been active in liaising with MPs who are waterways supporters, writes Harry Arnold.
The subject for discussion has been the proposals for British Waterways’ (BW) statutory obligations being transferring to the Canal & River Trust (CRT).
The waterways minister, Richard Benyon MP, has said there was some ‘wiggle room’ over the £39m per annum offer to the CRT, and the government response to the representations it received on its New Era for the Waterways consultation announced the government was in negotiation with the CRT Transition Trustees.
The trustees themselves are on the public record as saying the current offer of £39m per year is not enough.
The IWA has been consistently supportive of the move of the BW network into the third sector, with consistent qualifications – the most serious being that the government must ensure the CRT is financially viable. The IWA has been vocal in its concern that the offer is inadequate in this critical time for the negotiations.
Public record
The association has also been seeking to expose and place on the public record the cost of certain major liabilities and has focused particularly on bridges, BW pensions and dredging, in order to more fully understand the exact nature of the funding gap that might exist.
Working with MPs. The IWA wants to see parliamentary questions tabled to elicit the following information: The condition of many bridges across the network is one of substantial and ongoing disrepair and as such is a source of major concern. Key figures to emerge was that BW estimates that to keep its bridges in England and Wales at ‘steady state’ (ie, to prevent further deterioration) would cost £3.3m per annum. In 2010/11 BW spent £1.15m on major repairs and an additional £205k on routine maintenance, some way short of what it should be spending if it had the money, and far below what is required to bring them into a well-maintained condition.
The IWA's questions revealed that in March 2010, the BW pension deficit was £65.6m and is arguing that the government should retain past pension liability allowing the CRT to begin life with a clean sheet on pension liability in respect of retired former state employees.
Defra has confirmed that around 287km of the network requires dredging and the cost of that would be about £40m. In 2011/12, BW plans to dredge 45km at a cost of £4.2m.
The IWA has already determined elsewhere that in order to maintain a steady state, approximately £8m is required to be spent on dredging each year in addition to the £40 m needed to address the backlog.
Current expenditure is therefore thought to be half that needed to maintain the network from further deterioration, and will not be capable of remedying any of the current backlog.
Meanwhile the Parliamentary All Party Group has reconvened to hold a hearing with the waterways minister Richard Benyon MP on 8 December with the primary purpose of providing him with the opportunity to report to the All Party Group on the government’s response to the views it received on its new era consultation about the future of the inland waterways, including the consideration that the government gave to the group’s memorandum – The Future of the Waterways.
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