Written evidence submitted by Canal & River Trust

 

This response is submitted by the Canal & River Trust (the Trust). The Trust is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. The assets and undertaking of British Waterways (“BW”) in England and Wales were transferred to the Trust in July 2012 by a Statutory Transfer Scheme under the Public Bodies Act 2012. It was the biggest ever transfer of state assets to a third sector body, leading the Trust to become one of the largest charities in the country. 

The Trust cares for an extraordinary collection of inland waterways in England and Wales, holding them in trust for the nation in perpetuity. This includes 2,000 miles of working canals and river navigations, with associated canal & riverside paths, the third largest collection of listed buildings in the country, 49 scheduled ancient monuments, two museums and five World Heritage Sites, one of which the Trust manages directly. The nation’s inland waterways are one of the UK’s largest free-to-access cultural spaces, visited by an estimated 18–20 million people each year, generating nearly 400 million visits in aggregate, and circa 4.3 million people visit regularly.

The contribution the canal and river network makes to society may seem obvious to anyone who has visited and experienced the vitality of the waterways and the activity they support, and recognised their connection to the millions of people living within such a short distance of them. They touch many aspects of our society and our economy: physical and mental health, transport, leisure and recreation, local regeneration, volunteering and community cohesion, energy production and more.

With over 14% of the national population living within one kilometre of one of our waterways, over eight million people have access to this ‘free to use and enjoy’ resource on their doorstep: this presents immense opportunities to derive positive social impact across many different communities in a wide variety of places especially as (given the waterways’ industrial past) we come into direct contact with many of the nation’s most deprived communities. Waterways can provide a strong sense of place, connection and belonging, and help shape the way people live their lives, and their relationships with others in their community – to promote greater wellbeing.

Whilst the Trust provides comment on only two of the five areas of this inquiry, we would like to refer the committee to a recent report published by the Trust; “Waterways and Wellbeing, Building the Evidence Base, First Outcomes Report, September 2017”, which fully explains the breadth of the impacts that our waterways can have, and our ambitions for our cultural assets to make an even greater difference locally and nationally, to personal, community and societal wellbeing. Our outcomes measurement framework (OMF) work has been supported initially by Cardiff University, and for the last eighteen months guided by our volunteer External Reference Group, which has included leading academic figures, senior representatives from Public Health England, Heritage Lottery Fund and New Philanthropy Capital and with the active involvement of the Cabinet Office Analysis and Insight Team in the early stages.  We know that access to green space and heritage activities boost wellbeing for all, and our OMF work is being seen as ground-breaking as it seeks to demonstrate impact beyond how it is traditionally viewed and gives a more robust and rounded understanding of how the Trust’s waterways (cultural assets) touch the lives of millions of individuals and communities.

  1. Which programmes best demonstrate the positive social impact that participating in sport and culture can have on the five central themes of this inquiry?

To demonstrate and evidence that our waterways are ‘transforming places and enriching lives’, we recognise the necessity to measure the value of the multipurpose nature of our waterways in terms of:

• how they are being used by others as platforms for a wide range of activity;

• the difference that our activities and interventions are making to local people’s lives; and

• the contributions they are making to the economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the nation.

The Trust is using its OMF to measure the breadth of impacts and outcomes that are being generated by waterways and the Trust’s activities together with the strong synergy with wider economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing. We are seeking to build an evidence base that supports a wider recognition in policy terms of the cross-cutting nature of waterways’ positive social impact. To ensure that we are at the forefront of understanding of what waterways and the Trust can do to increase social impact and wellbeing, we also work closely with the What Works Centre for Wellbeing. The everyday use of waterways and the programmes below, provide a snap shot of the positive social impact the Trust’s cultural assets and activities (sports, arts and culture) are making. 

1a. Everyday social impact derived from inland waterway cultural assets

The Trust conducts regular research using:

  1. A Waterway Engagement Monitor (WEM):  a continuous online survey conducted among 1,000 adults per month, representative of the England & Wales population 
  2. Local Community Surveys (LCS):  3,840 in-home interviews conducted in Spring 2017 among residents living within 1km of canals in areas predefined by the Trust
  3. Towpath Surveys:  face-to-face intercept surveys among towpath users conducted across two waves – in July and September 2017, over 3,000 interviews per wave

Insights from these studies suggest that waterways engage visitors from across groups often under-represented in other activities:

•          42% of waterway visitors are C2DE compared with 47% of the population

•          36% are young people compared with 31% of the population

•          11% are from BAME groups compared with 9% of the population

Our WEM data consistently reports that those who visit waterways rate their happiness and satisfaction with life significantly higher than the general population. The most frequently mentioned primary motivation for a waterway visit is ‘to relax in a peaceful environment’. ‘To get fresh air’ and ‘to get some physical exercise’ are the other two major visit motivations, both strongly related to wellbeing and happiness. Spending quality time either alone or with friends and family are also strong motivations, also arguably related to wellbeing and happiness.  

Around 15-20% of those whose main motivation for visiting a Trust waterway is physical exercise, would not have taken part in this activity at all if the waterway was not there. This translates to 200k to 250k people in an average two-week period. Data from the 2017 Towpath Surveys corroborates this – 12% of towpath users from the study areas claimed that they would not have done any exercise had the towpath not been available. There are 3.5m people who use the Trust’s waterways for physical activity in an average two-week period. Of these, 30% participate in these activities for at least three hours per week (1.1m people), so exceeding the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of 150 mins.

70% of the national population feel that canals are ‘an important part of local communities’ demonstrating a general belief that canals help to make communities more cohesive. Two-thirds of those who live within a mile of a Trust waterway agree that the canal is an important part of the local area. The degree of importance was driven mainly by users of these cultural assets rather than none users, suggesting that greater community use could support more cohesive communities. With respect the environment, WEM 2016/17 data indicates that among the England & Wales population, almost 90% agree that canals are ‘an important part of the nation’s heritage’ and are ‘an important habitat for nature and wildlife’.

WEM 2016/17 data indicates that across England & Wales, 1.2m people use a Trust waterway in an average two-week period in order ‘to get somewhere else’ i.e. a surrogate for essential journeys such as commuting.  If the waterway was not there, then around 40% of these people would have used some form of non-green transport – c.25% their own car, van etc. and c.15% public transport. With 143m visits to the Trust’s waterways each year (around a third of all visits) being simply to get somewhere else, it suggests that these cultural assets could be a valuable focus for getting the waterside populations to travel ‘green’. This assumption is strengthened by the fact that we know that half of those who live within ½ mile of a Trust waterway agree that ‘canal towpaths are good alternatives to using a car’.

1b. Using inland waterway cultural assets for social action / volunteering

The Trust manages cultural assets to facilitate and grow local community social action, essential to the future sustainability of our waterways, but also essential for the health and wellbeing of those involved. Volunteer time to help maintain the waterways has increased by 264% to over 550,000 hours and over 190 communities have signed up to adopt a local canal giving their support through volunteering and social action.  The Trust’s Community Roots programme is a three-year programme supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which aims to work with the local community to improve the environmental condition of two stretches of the Huddersfield Narrow and Rochdale Canals and promote ongoing social action to support the waterways role in the community. Over 1200 people have volunteered and over 50 individual sites along the canals have been enhanced.

The Trust has also offered a small number of full time opportunities through funded, sponsored NEET programmes, and some short term full time placements in our professional teams. Our experience has shown that sustained, committed volunteering and social action benefits people, especially young people, with them becoming more self-aware, receptive, confident, resilient, motivated and responsible; enhancing their sense of belonging and contribution to society. We are keen to create more volunteering opportunities for young people using our cultural assets as we believe this would help our charity reach a wider range of young people, help us achieve our charitable objectives, and provide a vast range of opportunities for young people and communities themselves.

1c. Using inland waterway cultural assets for art based social impact activity

In partnership with Arts Council England, the Trust’s Arts on the Waterways programme is beginning to demonstrate social impact in areas of low engagement with both the arts and the waterways. Through transformational partnerships over the last two years, the Trust’s Super Slow Way (SSW) project has engaged 40,000 people in the areas of multiple deprivation along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor in Pennine Lancashire particularly from Asian communities.

•                     19% of participants were from BAME communities who do not normally engage in mainstream arts (versus 12% East Lancs population: Census 2011)

•                     12% of participants were older adults (50 years+) including to 574+ carers reached through targeted projects

Local people have acted as co-commissioners, creative participants and active audiences, building confidence amongst residents. Over 200 artists, 29 community groups and 20 arts organisations have been involved.  25% of people taking part in the programme were children and young people (aged 0 - 25), including NEET or at risk of being NEET.

The Trust has also worked with established artists to address anti-social behaviour and tagging on bridges and wall. Artists and curators of calibre such as Lucy McLauchlan and Cedar Lewisohn have led major street art projects engaging young people and NEETs. As a result, new high-quality street art work appeared along walls on canals in Birmingham and London (as part of the legacy of London 2012 Olympics), reducing anti-social tagging along the waterway. 

The Trust is currently developing ‘Hinterlands’, a new community engagement programme led by artists along selected waterways which pass through areas of social need and environmental decline. The project will deliver participatory arts activities giving local people a voice within the artistic process and linking them to nearby creative hubs along towpaths and canal corridors, helping to build confidence, skills and social cohesion.

1d. Using inland waterway cultural assets for sport based social impact

The objectives of a pilot programme funded in part by Sport England were to deliver initiatives that demonstrated increases in community engagement, sport, physical activity and volunteering.  Canoeing, angling, running, orienteering and cycling were chosen as they are activities available along most inland waterways. An ability to show that canals can appeal and attract inactive people and that further activity provision can enable positive behaviour change was a key objective.

 

Locations were identified according to criteria that specified large diverse population, proximity to canals and good transport links. These included, Banbury, Aylesbury, Northampton and Milton Keynes.  Community clubs, local authorities and county sports partnerships were involved. From 3,258 participants, 25% of participants surveyed stated they are more active as a result of the project and 44% stated they would use their local canal to increase fitness. Anecdotal evidence suggested ‘taster sports sessions’ led to regular follow on participation and club membership increased.

 

1e. Coast-to-Coast Desmond Family Canoe Trail 2015–20

The vision behind this project is to create England’s first coast-to-coast canoe trail, stretching over 240 kilometres (150 miles) from Liverpool to Goole via Leeds, connecting some of the most deprived communities along its route. Highlights over the first two years of the project are:

  1. How can museums, galleries and other cultural venues boost access and social impact?

The Trust maintains over 15,000 heritage artefacts in its collection and over 100,000 archive records of the construction and operation of the historic waterways. Artefacts and archive records include: tools, machinery, insignia and memorabilia, clothing, decorative arts, paintings, photographs, maps and plans, drawings, business papers and letters dating from the 1780s to the present day. The Trust also maintains a historic fleet of around 70 boats. These items are held for display to the public in our museums, or in secure storage facilities, and the assets and artefacts have historical, scientific and technological qualities that are maintained for public benefit, knowledge and culture. Our Museums and collections receive no direct government support and survive through a combination of direct Trust funding, third party grants, donations and public fundraising alongside thousands of hours of volunteering time given by the friends of our museums. The Trust believes that our museums and collections already provide access for learning, training and skills but this can be further enhanced through better understanding, coordination and appreciation of the value of our venues and collections by government departments such as health and social care and education.

The value of our venues and collections for formal and informal learning for all ages in turn supports wellbeing and community cohesion through outreach and engagement. Volunteering and community engagement supports skill development, confidence building, integration and trust between neighbours. 

The potential of social prescribing (Museums / Waterways on prescription) could have huge potential for tackling social isolation and loneliness. One quote from one of our more elderly volunteers is; ‘it gives me a purpose for getting up in the morning’. Research from Liverpool University demonstrates the value of reminiscing; putting on events and exhibitions can help people suffering from the early signs of dementia. Our waterway museums and our waterways in general, can help address the symptoms of poor health and social inequality but agencies must work together to mainstream and support the types of initiatives described above which are known to have value. 

I hope that our response to this important issue is helpful. If any of the observations require further explanation we would be happy to discuss further.

Richard Rutter

Policy, Research and Impact Unit Manager

Canal & River Trust

 

February 2018