I
Ian Cloke
Guest
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.......
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.......