The document discusses waterways and their potential to deliver social and economic benefits. It describes the decline and renaissance of canals in England and Wales. The Canal & River Trust was launched and uses a Network Stewardship Score to measure progress on maintaining waterways and delivering public benefits. The Trust sees opportunities to better understand the socioeconomic benefits of waterways by aggregating data on short-term user benefits, long-term benefits of maintenance, and physical health benefits of exercising along waterways.

1. Green & Blue Futures
Developing the Socio Economic Potential of
Waterway Corridors
9th & 10th October 2013, Clonmel, Co Tipperary,
Ireland
How can waterways deliver social and
economic benefits to the nation?
Tony Harvey – Head of National Programmes
tony.harvey@canalrivertrust.org.uk

2. • The canals of
• England & Wales

3. The decline of our canals

4. Supremacy of the railways

5. The renaissance of canals

6. Canals today

8. Launch of the Canal & River Trust

9. Our Governance

10. Council

11. Income for the
first 9 months
of the Trust

12. Fundraising

13. The first year – social and economic
benefits delivered? months)

14. Green & Blue Futures
CANAL & RIVER TRUST
UK Charity / Nav.
Authority
€0.69 21%
PROVINCE OF WEST
FLANDERS
BE
€0.43 13%
SCOTTISH WATERWAYS
TRUST
UK Charity / Nav.
Authority
€0.56 17%
PROVINCE OF HAINAUT
BE
Regional Authority
€0.62 19%
SOUTH TIPPERARY
COUNTY COUNCIL
IR
Regional Authority
€0.45 14%
REIUSSIR EN SAMBRE
FR
Regional Dev’t
Agency
€0.42 13%
SCOTTISH CANALS
SC Local Public
Authority
Regional Authority
€0.08 3%

15. Measuring public benefits
• NSS uses a multi-criteria analysis approach to
combine a range of indicators, using appropriate
weights and scores
• Indicators have been developed for maintaining
the network, public usage and customer
experience and there is evidence of these wider
benefits and their value from recent and ongoing
studies

16. National Stewardship Score
BW stewardship
score
Objective 1:
Maintaining the
network
Objective 3: Delivering
public benefits 35
65
State of
assets
Functionality
of network
Asset-related
safety
30
55
15
Condition of
principal
assets
Heritage
compliance
70
15
Ease of use
of user
operated
mechanisms
12.5
25
Boat
licences
85
15
15
Towpath
condition
Bank
protection
condition
Propensity of
boat owners
to recommend
Employee
incidents 50
relating to
infrastructure
failures
Noncompliant
channels
20
Number of
unplanned
closures
Propensity of
towpath
visitors to
recommend
20
20
12.5
15
Other public
benefits
55
45
Number of
towpath
visitors
Condition of
SSSIs
Customer
incidents 50
relating to
infrastructure
failures
Serviceability
of principal
assets
Customer
experience
Usage
15
Propensity of
holiday
boaters to
recommend
20
Propensity of
destination
visitors to
recommend
% score for
staff being
friendly,
helpful and
conscientious
20
20

17. Measuring public benefits
• Canal River Trust uses Network Stewardship
Score (NSS) to measure progress against
strategic objectives:
1. Maintaining the network
3. Delivering public benefits
• Waterways deliver a range of other public benefits
(health, environmental, heritage, community and
recreational) which are currently omitted not part
of the NSS

18. The Canal & River Trust
Scope for new thinking data can be aggregated to enable us to understand
information on socio economic benefits:
• Short-term user benefits where visitor
numbers/enjoyment responds to improved
condition
• Longer-term benefits and risk management:
through maintenance in comparison to the
benefits of short-term functional investment
• Physical health and wellbeing benefits:
where the physical exercise generated by the
canals can be monetised

19. Conclusions
• Tony Harvey – Head of
National Programmes
• Tony.harvey@canalrivertrust.org.uk

20. The Future