Annex
LETTER TO THE RT HON GORDON BROWN MP, CHANCELLOR
OF THE EXCHEQUER FROM COUNCILLOR ROBERT LIGHT, LEADER OF THE COUNCIL
I am writing to you to express the Council's
concern about the implications of cutbacks in funding for British
Waterways.
We understand that the cutbacks have been caused
by a need to re-profile expenditure within the Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs as a result at least in part of pressure
it is under as a result of the farm payments scheme and the need
to accommodate within budget fines from the European Union.
In its consideration of the issue the Council
affirmed its belief that:
"the canal network throughout Kirklees,
when effectively managed and maintained can provide an asset which
people can be proud of. The network can contribute to the quality
of life, provide local employment and generate tourist revenue.
This Council deplores the cuts which the Government
through DEFRA is making.
This Council therefore resolves,
1. To note that the Cabinet member for Environment
and Transportation has already raised the matter with the Government
and highlighted the impacts to local people.
2. Requests the Chief Executive to write
to the local MPs and lobby them to oppose these cuts, an action
which individual Members should also consider.
3. Requests the Leader of the Council, on
behalf of all Members, to write to the Treasury and urge them
to meet the costs of the European `fine' without making cuts to
bodies such as BWB."
This letter meets the requirements of point
3 above.
There are three linked canals within or passing
through Kirklees.
— The Huddersfield Narrow Canal—restored
as a Millennium project.
— The Huddersfield Broad Canal.
— The Calder and Hebble Canal.
All are used for a wide range of leisure uses—for
boating, the towpath for walking, cycling, fishing as well as
providing valuable green links in our communities. They are increasingly
the focus of major urban regeneration projects—in Huddersfield,
in Slaithwaite, in Mirfield and Dewsbury—where they provide
a valuable setting for new residential, commercial and leisure
uses and generate tourist income.
Accordingly the proper and effective management
and promotion of these waterways is of major importance to us
and our communities. We regard any threat to such waterways as
a major concern—hence this resolution and correspondence.
I would urge you to recognise the important
contribution that waterways and their management make to urban
regeneration and local amenities and to enable any obligations
to the European Union to be met without cuts to bodies such as
British Waterways.
March 2007
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