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 of  the number of people living permanently on boats in the City, the varying reasons for living on boats, the provision of mooring sites and services and the suitability of existing infrastructure to support these communities;

4.    Consideration should be given as to how the Council should  best develop a policy position on the issue of boats used as housing and what roles the Council has, considering the following questions:

1)    Does Cabinet agree with the Scrutiny Committee that boats should be recognised and welcomed for the contribution they currently make to housing? 

2)    Cabinet should consider the implications for the Council with regard its role as both a housing and planning authority, on wider policy and strategy matters and the role of our other partners.

3)    Are there sufficient mooring sites and service infrastructure and what is the Council’s  role in addressing any shortfalls?

4)    Is the infrastructure at current Council-owned sites sufficient?

5)    Are there opportunities for the Council to develop approaches to prioritise the allocation of moorings to those most in need?  

5.    Given that the City’s waterways (particularly through their rich history and heritage) contribute to the visitor experience and provide a visitor attraction and a leisure asset, efforts should be made to maximise this potential. This  may include the need for future investment to regenerate areas of the city and improve facilities;

6.    There should be support for  the use of the waterways as a health and wellbeing resource, supporting healthy communities. In particular, there should be support for efforts to explore how the waterways can contribute to social prescribing activity and other health initiatives such as health walks;

7.    The contribution the waterways make to the natural environment of the City, providing habitat and biodiversity, should be acknowledeged. As such, there should be support for  improvement initiatives on the waterways which contribute to wider efforts to combat the climate crisis; and

8.    The should be support for  increased access and use of the waterways by all in the city, particularly as routes for sustainable alternative transport modes such as cycling and walking.