Inland Waterways Association says Canal & River Trust launch could be delayed
INLAND WATERWAYS: The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) claims there is increasing speculation over whether the Canal & River Trust (CRT) will come into being in April this year, writes Harry Arnold.
The IWA says the timetable for establishing the CRT always looked like a tall order and in the early days of consultation by government it commented that the fast track timetable looked difficult to achieve. It’s starting to look as if the IWA was right to sound a note of caution over the timetable.
The Public Bodies Bill - the enabling legislation for government to pursue the Transfer Order that will ensure that the British Waterways (BW) rights and obligations are passed to the CRT - took longer than programmed to be enacted, not receiving Royal Assent until 14 December.
The Transfer Order was intended to be laid before parliament before Christmas, but it still hasn’t been laid. When it is laid, it will be subject to an examination by parliament under what is known as the Enhanced Affirmative Procedure.
It will be the first time this procedure has been used and it will almost certainly lead to consideration by parliament for a 60-day period, including a debate, and approval will be required by both Houses of Parliament. The Order is also wrapped up with the ongoing negotiations between the CRT Transition
Trustees and the government finance for the project which were also expected to be concluded before Christmas.
The IWA has always said the £39m per annum was not enough and argued that this had to be improved. In its representations to government the IWA said that elements that it could consider for incorporation into a sustainable funding package should include meeting the past service pension liabilities of BW, so that the charity starts with a clean sheet on pension liability.
Also it should provide a transition fund both to cover the increased costs needed for a successful launch of the charity and the costs of promoting broad based local ownership of our waterways, including finance to pump prime locally determined projects.
Certainty of funding should be provided beyond 10 years. In addition, funding for the cost of bridge repairs which have risen exponentially for BW should be found, including the option of transferring responsibility for maintenance of road bridges to the relevant local highway authorities.
The IWA makes no apology if its interventions play some part in a delay for the inception of the CRT and hopes that these interventions will lead to a better deal. If that means it takes longer for the CRT to come into being, it will have been a worthwhile campaign to ensure that it starts life with a better chance of survival than offered by the deal on the table last year.
A special workshop - jointly organised with the trustees of the CRT and to which senior management of BW will be contributing – is being organised by the IWA to consider the impact on existing waterway charities and groups and also the opportunities it may bring.
Representatives of all canal and river societies are invited to The Bond Conference Centre, Birmingham on Saturday 18 February.
Further details will be made available nearer the date, but interest should be registered with Gemma.Bolton@waterways.org.uk
