Minutes of 54thmeeting of the

Cotswold Canals Partnership Project Board

held at Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1PX

on Thursday, 23 October 2014 at 1000

Present:

Bruce Hall (BH) – Cotswold Canals Partnership (CCP) – Deputy Chairman

Cllr Clive Bennett (CB), Cotswold District Council (CDC)

Cllr Jim Parsons (JP) - Cotswold District Council (CDC)

Dave Marshall (DM) – Stroud District Council (SDC)

Ian Jones (IJ) – Environment Agency (EA)

Jack Telling (JT) – Cotswold Canals Trust (CCT)

Jason Leach (JL), Canal & River Trust (CRT)

Ken Burgin (KB) – Cotswold Canals Trust (CCT, CoPSN & SVCC)

Kevin Cranston (KC) – Western Consultative Committee (WCC)

Neville Nelder (NN) – Company of Proprietors (CofP)

Nick Brojer (NJ) – Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology (GSIA)

Rob Millar (RM) – Environment Agency (EA)

Roger Hanbury (RH) – Canal & River Trust (CRT) – Chair

Sally Graff (SG) – Cotswold District Council – Tourism (CDC)

Val Kirby (VK) - Cotswold Canals Trust (CCT)

Vaughan Welch (VW) – Inland Waterways Association (IWA)

1.Apologies:

Cllr Jenny Hincks

Cllr Stan Waddington

John Maxted

Ken Oliver

Max Comfort

Peter Best

2.Welcome.

RH welcomed everyone to the meeting, particularly Ian Jones, Environment Agency, who would be taking over Rob Millar’s place on the Partnership; and Jason Leach, Midlands Enterprise & Restoration Team Manager, Canal & River Trust.

3.Notes of the Previous Meeting (24 July 2014) and Matters Arising.

The notes of the meeting were briefly reviewed and was agreed by those present.

Matters Arising: There were no matters arising.

4.Election of Chairman.

RH confirmed that due to his change in role, he felt he should now step aside from the Chair of the Partnership and thanked all those present for their support over the lifetime of the Partnership since 2001. He introduced Jason Leach, Midlands Enterprise & Restoration Team Manager, Canal & River Trust, who was well-placed to help the Partnership develop its ongoing role. RH therefore proposed that Jason Leach should chair the Partnership for the next 12 months and this was seconded by Councillor Clive Bennett and unanimously agreed.

5.Chairman’s Update.

Jason then introduced himself as the Canal & River Trust lead working with the IWA in a newly formed Restoration group. As part of his induction he hoped to meet members of the Partnership one-to-one in the coming months. He then introduced a short video, Water, which was available online, and was well received. He then further explained that the Trust was looking to be an active partner in the restoration scheme. It was recognised that with around 90 schemes around the country, he could not be involved in all of them but was able to provide support in areas such as planning, engineering, and funding and with the IWA had recently conducted a survey of all restoration groups.

As a number of members had to leave to early, JL then reordered the agenda to bring the Partner updates to the fore.

6.Partner Updates.

  • Sally Graff (CDC Tourism)
  • SG briefly outlined the current developments with Cotswold Tourism, a partnership between GFirst, LEP, local District Councils, the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and tourism businesses. In her current role, Sally was working across several local authority boundaries and the current priority was to establish the strategic way forward for Cotswold Tourism. She also noted that Cotswold Tourism is working with VisitEngland with a campaign for 2015 focusing on countryside and nature and for 2015 they would be launching a new Cotswold Tourism phone app
  • In further discussion, it was noted that CRT has experience of working in Europe and some experience in securing European funding. It was also noted that Julie Girling, local MEP, could well be of assistance in identifying funding opportunities. There is an opportunity through the European Waterways Group to lobby the European Parliament for longer-term funding streams
  • Rob Millar (Environment Agency)

RM noted the work the EA is doing with the Knowledge Transfer Partnership and the opportunity for Masters level students to look at the benefits of restoration, and in particular Phase 1B. Val Kirby agreed to pick this up with RM. ACTION: VK/RM

  • Dave Marshall (Stroud District Council)

DM noted that Ian Edwards is leaving SDCduring November. In his absence, the Partnership thanked him for his many contributions and leadership provided in the course of Phase 1A

7.Progress Reports and Actions.

7.1Phase 1A (Dave Marshall).

DM presented an overview of progress as follows:

  • Ebley. At Ebley he noted that the food outlet is now open and doing very well in the vicinity of Ebley Mill andthe transformation that had been achieved in the waterside environment
  • Dudbridge. The bypass channel damaged in the course of last winter’s flooding will be repaired by a local builder. There are concerns about access to the site in high flows but the work should be completed somewhere between November and January
  • Ruscombe Brook. He also noted the work undertaken by volunteers to remedy damage caused by summer storms
  • Lodgemore Bridge. He noted that an assessment was being carried out to see whether a liftbridge could be installed rather than a swingbridge. This is being considered at planning level and with HLF. This would be a composite structure using existing buttments. In the adjacent channel, he noted that 300m had now been dredged in the course of a month in a £100k contract funded by Veolia
  • Wallbridge Lower Lock Pound. Channel work and construction of a fish bypass around the lock was currently ongoing and work can be seen online using the Stroud webcams (
  • Cheapside. Work is underway to dredge the canal and stabilise the banks using a Nickospan fabric system
  • Capel’s Mill. DM highlighted the sculptures which had been installed between May and August as part of the Stroud Site Festival . He also highlighted that the areas around the Capel’s Mill site were now designated as Stroud Waterside Park and that the Stroud Valleys project currently undertaking the development and maintenance. He also highlighted the Sculpture competition which had been sponsored by Pangolin Editions and were now permanent installations. Focus on the Waterside Park had highlighted concerns over the state of the railway viaduct and Network Rail had been approached to solve the buddleia problem
  • Bowbridge Bridge. Work was ongoing with design and costing an engineering solution. Gloucestershire County Council had agreed to contribute. A decision on the final design solution is expected end October
  • Bowbridge Lock. The volunteer-led restoration was progressing well and work would include repairs to the lock approach wall which had collapsed
  • Griffins Mill Lock. This restoration undertaken exclusively by volunteers was now gated and nearing completion
  • Ham Mill Lock, Thrupp. Restoration of this lock – the last of 3 undertaken by the volunteers – would be led by the Cotswold Canals Trust Western Depot
  • Awards. The canal project has recently won two awards, both for the work at Capel’s Mill
  • The citation from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Gloucestershire Awards summed up the project – “an inspired and elegant solution to the realignment of the canal in a location that posed a wide range of difficult engineering and environmental problems; and for using volunteers, local businesses and the community to help transform an old tip into an important area of waterside parkland.”
  • It is worth mentioning that schemes in the Stroud District won 4 out the 6 CPRE awards
  • The Capel’s Mill project also won a commendation in the Canal River Trust’s Living Waterway Awards. This was in the Contribution to the Built Environment category

These two awards for Capel’s Mill come on top of an award earlier this year from the Institution of Civil Engineers (South West)

  • Education. DM outlined education work including:
  • the murals completed at Stonehouse, which is undertaken by William Morris House which supports young people with special needs
  • In addition, 7 short stories based on the canal had now been written and were available as part of the education resource pack
  • Finally he noted that 20 interpretation panels for the 1A length had now been designed and signed-off for production with installation expected soon
  • In response to questions, DM confirmed that 1A should be completed by November 2015 and that there were plans to undertake a project evaluation

Ken Burginthen went on to add the following points:

  • Water Supply. SVCC is waiting on the EA regarding the abstraction application for 7.5ML per day at the Brimscombe end. This was in hand. The water supply would be necessary to enable the locks to operate when restoration of 1A was complete at the end of 2015
  • Lodgemore Bridge – Land Registry. Ongoing work to resolve the land ownership contested by the Hartley Property Trust
  • Hydroscheme – KB noted that to date, 65MW of power had been generated with an income of £16,000

7.2Phase 1b bid – Ken Burgin

KB outlined the 3 major challenges for 1B

  • A38 crossing and Walk Bridge – these were being costed by Amey. Options being considered on the presumption that the County Council could be the client
  • M5 – project team is meeting Skanska shortly
  • Rail crossing – awaiting a meeting with Network Rail

KB also noted that he was in touch with Canal & River Trust

In addition, other detailed issues were being looked at:

  • Whitminster Lock
  • Gas and oil pipeline crossings
  • Implications for the flood plain
  • Landowners involved were being contacted

Val Kirby, who’s leading the project, then gave further detail on how 1B was being approached and the detailed work and timetable.

  • Currently a consortium consisting of Cotswold Canals Trust, Stroud Valleys Canal Company, Company of Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, and Stroud District Council formed the core group and it was hoped also that Canal & River Trust, Gloucestershire County Council and Inland Waterways Association would join the group and consideration was being given to how greater community involvement could be achieved
  • VK’s presentation outlined the 6 themes which underpin the bid and which are consistent with the requirements of HLF:
  • Heritage restored and replaced
  • Heritage sustainably managed
  • Heritage known and communicated
  • People involved and knowledgeable
  • Natural environment benefits
  • Local prosperity and quality of life
  • The current timetable was to submit the bid in November 2015. This would coincide with the substantial completion of 1A but it was also important that evaluation of 1A had been completed by this stage
  • The support bid process.
  • Local conferences planned before Christmas include 2 about volunteers and volunteering, one for representatives of town and parish councils, and one for local businesses
  • In addition, there was going to be a walk-over of the length involved with HLF in the next few weeks
  • By May 2015, the draft bid should be prepared and this would be out to consultation during July and August with revisions undertaken in September
  • Following final approval by the Cotswold Canal Trustees, the bid would be submitted by the end of November 2015
  • Thereafter, if all went well, HLF would announce a development grant by April 2016 and following that a further successful Stage 2 bid could mean constructiion starting in April 2017 with completion in 2020
  • Total maximum cost is currently estimated at £20m of which HLF might contribute £15m with a match funding requirement – including voluntary time as well as cash – of £5m plus volunteer time. Further reports would follow at subsequent Partnership meetings

8.Consultation.

8.1Western Consultative Group. Kevin Cranston noted that the WCC meeting had taken place the previous evening and included discussion about a town centre neighbourhood development plan under the strapline, Shaping the Heart of Stroud. This includes the canal west of Brewery Bridge to Capel’s Mill and the Waterside Park potential to bring the canal to the fore. Proposals would be discussed at a public meeting on 15 November, open to residents, stakeholders and those who visit the area

8.2Eastern Consultative Group. ECC still needs a chair and this is being considered. JL agreed to discuss this with Cotswold Canal Trust outside the meeting. ACTION: JL

9.Communications (Dave Marshall).

  • The meeting agreed that we should find a way of circulating the Just Add Water video to the parish councils to promote the benefits of restoration. However, this needed to be done with personal contact so that the purpose of the circulation was not misconstrued. ACTION: ALL

10.Any Other Business.

  • RH noted that with his departure, the meeting would now need secretariat support to organise and record the meetings and it was agreed that CCT would investigate whether there was a suitable volunteer available
  • Vaughan Welch noted that there was a Waterway Society Restoration Project Officers meeting planned for 30 November at Hatton. He and KB were attending
  • Cotswold Tourisms Awards. Sally Graff noted these awards coming up shortly and suggested that in future years there was scope for submissions based on the canal. ACTION: ALL

11.Date of Next Meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 22 January 2015, 1000-1300 at Stroud District Council.

Roger Hanbury

17 November 2014

2015 Meetings (1000-1230):

Thursday 22 January – SDC

Thursday 16 April – SDC (please note change of date)

Thursday 23 July – CDC

Thursday 15 October – CDC

Cotswold Canals Partnership Board123 October 2014