The Committee received a report on the Oxford Waterways Project at its meeting in on 05 November 2019. This item will provide the Committee with an update on progress. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for a Safer Healthy Oxford and Tim Wiseman, Oxford Waterways Coordinator, have been invited to attend for this item.    

The Committee considered a report it had commissioned from the Transition Director on the Oxford Waterways Project.

The Chair welcomed Ian Green to the meeting. Mr Green addressed the meeting in his capacity as Chair of the Oxford Civic Society (OCS) and incoming Chair of the Oxford City Canal Partnership (OCCP).

From the OCS perspective the 2019 ‘Oxford Waterways – A Shared Vision’ was the result of the Council putting dedicated specialist resources in place.  This had set out a framework of key themes and identified where improvements could be made with partnership support The report before the Committee demonstrated  many examples of small improvement activities undertaken in the past two years, with the support of the Project Coordinator, which had  helped to  deliver against these themes. 

Significant challenges, however, remained. Was the Environment Agency (EA), for example, adequately engaged in addressing the visionary themes?  The Canal and River Trust (CRT) had   shown itself to be a more willing partner, and Oxford was identified as a priority within its regional plan but its resources were limited. 

Oxford waterways needed a  “leader, champion, or  driver”  and could the  Council  provide senior-level leadership to ensure the agreement of priorities, including the contributions of the EA and CRT?

The waterways were part of the City’s strategic infrastructure and needed investment.  It was recognised that capital investment and recurring costs would be under great pressure but some areas which would benefit from a focus would not cost much and could even be cost recoverable.

OCS was concerned about a number of matters. Was sufficient attention being paid to the significant waterways development opportunities emerging in the City such as the ‘Island site’ (Hythe Bridge Street / Park End Street), Osney Mead and the Osney Industrial Estate redevelopments. How can the issue of unregistered land and unmanaged space at Folly Bridge be resolved positively?   How can we work with the EA and local residents in the Osney area to maximise on the huge popularity of the visitor moorings there? Does the ‘Thriving Communities’ strategy adequately recognise the boat-dwelling communities in the city and respond to their needs? Does the Council’s Housing & Homelessness Strategy present an opportunity to look again at the possibility of regarding boats used as homes? Should there be a more structured mooring system in the city that balances visitor moorings against the needs of those who live aboard?

Finally, from the OCS perspective, the heritage and history of Oxford’s waterways should be better reflected. This was where the Council could lead while working with local communities, the CRT and others.

From the OCCP perspective, it was clear that there were still tensions between the boat-dwelling community in the city and the authority despite the improvements as a result of the work of the Project Coordinator. 

It was important to ensure that waterways were adequately included in policy discussions across the board, this could, perhaps, be best achieved by the development of a new forum.

The Chair thanked Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48

The Committee has asked for a report on the current condition of the waterways network, and plans or options for improving its offer. This includes facilities and plans for future mooring provision for permanent long-term dwellers. The report will be presented by Councillor Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for  Zero Oxford; and  Tim Wiseman, Oxford Waterways Coordinator. This report will be published as a supplement.

Tim Wiseman, Oxford Waterways Coordinator, introduced the report. His post had been established a year previously in recognition of the complexity and wealth of benefits the waterways could offer the City. The post was temporary, due to end in September 2020. He was hopeful that the post would be extended to enable his initial work to be developed.    A vision for Oxford’s waterways had recently been published, identifying areas to deliver against the Council’s priorities. A significant  benefit of the vision had been its success in getting partners to sign up to its  aspirations, so recognising  their shared responsibilities. While the waterways touched specific parts of the City, he was keen to find ways in which they benefited the whole City. It was noticeable that few of the Council’s policies made reference to  the City’s waterways.

Communications with those living on the waterways could be challenging, in part for historical reasons. He tried to develop a good relationship through, for example,  small initiatives, such as dropping  off letters to encourage people to vote or sign up with a GP. 

The Committee congratulated Tim Wiseman for the significant improvement  he had made to the Council’s relationship with those who live on the City’s waterways. Among the many initiatives, the potential development of  biodiversity “corridors” and waterways as a sustainable transport option were particularly welcome. 

There was wide acknowledgement of the potential offered by the waterways to contribute to the City’s housing crisis. If and when new homes become available on the water, serious consideration will need to be given to how they will be allocated on an equitable basis.  For those currently living on the  water it was not without significant challenges (e.g. supply of fresh water; toilet emptying facilities; and refuse collection). Some city  moorings (e.g. Port Meadow) needed  considerable investment to bring them up to an acceptable standard. Little  seemed to be made of the significant historical role played by the waterways in the history of Oxford which was a regret. The potential of waterways to serve as locations for social prescribing/health walking was noted.

Tim Wiseman concluded by saying he was happy to make himself available to any communities in the City to encourage them to make use of and engage with the waterways and would welcome requests from Councillors to that end.

In conclusion the Committee recommended that:

1.    Where appropriate and relevant, council strategies and policies should reflect the contribution of the waterways to the city and that the review cycle be used to update those which are already in place.  For example, the Local Plan, Infrastructure Delivery Plan, Housing and Homelessness Strategy, Green Spaces Strategy and Leisure Strategy.

2.    The importance of the City’s waterways should be  recognised as an infrastructure asset, and there should be the requirement to support them through capital investment, alongside that of wider partners;

3.    Given the limited understanding of the diverse communities living on boats in the City, there should be a study to get a  better understanding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47