Investment in rivers must continue says Environment Agency

Investment in rivers must continue says Environment Agency

Written By: Press Office
On Date: 4/10/2006

The Environment Agency today (Friday) confirmed it will increase boat registration fees on the rivers it manages by 12% per year for three years from 2007 to help pay for essential repairs and improvements and the rising cost of construction work. Stuart Taylor, the Environment Agency?s National Navigation Manager, said: "For more than three-quarters of our boat owners the new charges will mean a rise of less than ?1 a week on their registration in the first year. By the third year, their registrations will have risen by less than ?2.60 a week on 2005 prices."

After a detailed audit revealed one quarter of the 1,700 sites, structures and services that it manages along 1,000 km of inland waterway in England and Wales were in urgent need of work, the Environment Agency secured a ?30 million grant for 2005-08 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - a rise of ?5 million per year on previous grants.

In the first year of this enhanced Defra funding, the Environment Agency carried out ?9 million of key repairs and managed to complete 10% more than originally planned because of greater efficiency. Earlier this month it unveiled a ?10 million schedule of works for the forthcoming winter.

But, there is no guarantee that Government funding of the waterways will continue at this level. Defra has also made it clear that it wants boaters to contribute more to the cost of managing the rivers, to create a fairer balance between public and private funds.

Stuart continued: "We understand that people find increases difficult but we have a responsibility to ensure the nation?s world-class rivers are safe and accessible for everyone to enjoy.

"Our latest research shows our annual budget for repairs and improvements is around ?12 million short of what we actually need and that a further ?60 million is required to clear the maintenance backlog built up over past decades of under investment on the rivers.

"We do not expect boaters to pay for this shortfall, but if they do their bit, and we do ours, it strengthens our position when it comes to securing further Government backing to help bridge the funding gap and prevent locks, laybys and moorings becoming unsafe and ultimately unusable.

continues.......

"Every penny of the ?3.5 million we currently receive from boat registration fees is used to benefit the rivers we care for. We are also using the increased Defra Grant in Aid to provide the improvements that boaters tell us they want.

"We have also kept fee increases as low as possible since taking over the management of navigable rivers in 1996 and in the last 10 years, the average rise has been just 3.7% - way below the annual rise in construction costs.

"At present the taxpayer foots ?70% of the bill for works on the rivers, while boaters - the people who benefit the most - pay just 30% nationally.

"We have consulted widely and at length with boating associations and businesses about the need to increase fees and after reflecting on all the feedback we dropped our initial proposal of a 14.1% rise.

"We have worked long and hard to balance the views and concerns with the boating community with our duty to the environment and now we are asking boaters to come on board and accept they need to help us do more to keep our rivers navigable."

The 12% rise, which the Environment Agency estimates will generate and extra ?1 million a year, is made up of:

A 5% increase to cover the rising cost of carrying out construction work. In the past we have not linked our charges to this inflation rate but British Waterways - the major navigation authority for canals in England and Wales - do
A 5% increase to maintain investment
A 2% increase towards improvements
Stuart added: "For many, boating is already an expensive pastime but registration fees are, on average, between just a sixth to a 10th of that total cost. Consequently, the majority of our past increases have had little or no effect on the boating market.

"That said, our priority is to soften the impact of this latest rise and we are looking at ways for people to pay by installments and to offer concessions to hire boat and passenger boat operators - and will keep the situation under review."

continues....

Summary of the Environment Agency?s waterways capital works programme:

Last winter, the first year of the enhanced Defra funding, ?9 million was poured in to 127 projects ranging from electrifying lock gates along the Nene, in East Anglia, the restoration of Godstow Lock on the Thames and the installation of hi-visibility booms upstream of weirs on the Medway in Kent.

This winter, ?10m will be spent - as follows:

1. Thames Region: This winter nearly ?4.75 million will be spent on the Thames where:

Bray Lock near Maidenhead will undergo a ?700,000 facelift that includes the addition of wider, safer walkways for boaters and more accessible canoe portage. Fish are also set to benefit with new reed beds and habitats being constructed from recycled wood from recently felled trees at the lock.
Historic Days Lock, in Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire, will receive a ?500,000 makeover, including re-facing the lock walls and lowering the lock chamber exit steps to give boaters safer access.
Clifton Lock, in Abingdon, will have a ?300,000 upgrade, including the replacement and extension of a deteriorating lay-by to provide more mooring space.

2. Anglian Region: Another ?2.8 million will be spent on Anglian rivers, where the highlights include a ?500,000 major overhaul of Hermitage Lock on the Great Ouse.

Two other schemes in the region will form part of the Environment Agency?s preparations to host the 2007 Inland Waterways Association Festival at St Ives.
Around ?500,000 will be invested in new visitor moorings and raising the bridge at Tichmarsh on the Nene and a further ?200,000 will be spent on replacement landing stages on at least two sites along the Great Ouse.
3. Southern Region: A number of key improvements will also be carried out along the Medway, including:

The powering of gates at the tidal end of Allington Lock, near Maidstone (?150,000)
The replacement of landing stages at up to five sites including Sluice Weir Lock, near East Peckham and Hampstead Lock, near Yalding (?200,000)
The replacement of rotten lock gate timbers at Porters Lock, downstream from Tonbridge, and Oak Weir Lock, near East Peckham (?100,000)
The Environment Agency carries out most major maintenance over the winter to limit the inconvenience to river users and informs registered boaters of the schedule of lock closures required to allow the works to go ahead.

We also advise anyone planning a trip on the rivers this winter to visit our website or call our National Customer Contact Centre on 08708 506 506 to check their route is clear.