Memorandum submitted by London Borough
of Camden (BW 96)
1. The London Borough of Camden benefits
from, and indeed grew up around, an important stretch of the Regent's
Canal. The principal canalside locations in the borough at Camden
Lock, Regent's Park and King's Cross represent a successful mixed-use
regeneration scheme, an important public open space, and a major
new redevelopment.
2. Camden Lock is today one of the busiest
and most vibrant canalside locations in the UK. Over the last
two decades, the council has worked with British Waterways and
local businesses to transform this historic Regent's Canal location,
creating an exciting mix of market stalls, shops, restaurants,
pubs, cafes, homes, offices and public open space. Much of the
heritage of the area has been retained, with sensitively refurbished
historic buildings put to new uses, and enhanced by high quality
modern architecture. Recently the area has suffered from a degree
of antisocial and illegal behaviour—from speeding cyclists
on the towpath to more serious drug-related activity. British
Waterways has been a key partner in tackling these issues and
we work together to improve safety in the area—with CCTV,
innovative lighting schemes, graffiti removal, towpath resurfacing,
removing hidden corners, creating windows onto the waterway, and
pooling resources through the Camden Town Business Improvement
District (BID). The introduction of warden patrols along the towpath
was a particularly successful initiative.
3. The grand sweep of the Regent's Canal
as it runs around Nash's Regent's Park provides a tranquil contrast
to the activity around Camden Lock and an important piece of public
open space for the borough. The towpath, which British Waterways
maintains, provides a popular route for walkers and cyclists,
and many local people are drawn to the canal to see passing narrowboats
and trip boats. This is a popular destination for boaters visiting
London and British Waterways provides visitor moorings and facilities.
For those without their own boat, the London Waterbus Company
in particular has for some years provided a popular service between
Little Venice, London Zoo and Camden Lock and was established
with the help of British Waterways. From a community perspective
the 'Pirate Castle' provides an important facility from which
children and young people can discover the canal.
4. The redevelopment of the old canalside
rail lands at King's Cross represents one of the biggest regeneration
projects in London and an enormous challenge and opportunity for
the borough. The site is bordered by the Regent's Canal and British
Waterways has worked closely with the council and the developer,
Argent, to secure funding and improvements to the towpath as well
as much-needed mooring facilities. We also continue to promote
the opportunity for moving construction materials to and from
the site by water, using the new wharf which it has recently built
with TfL at Willesden. We very much support the opportunity for
moving traffic off the roads and British Waterways' push to find
viable opportunities.
5. The London Borough of Camden partnership
with BWB is currently flourishing. A safer, greener, cleaner canal
is a joint priority for Camden and BWB. Both parties have used
funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal fund, Building Safer Communities
and latterly the Liveability fund to implement a range of activity.
The London Borough of Camden has a long and excellent working
relationship with British Waterways going back to the late 1960s
when the towpaths were first opened up for public use. Since that
time we continue working together to transform a once run-down
and neglected canal into one of the most popular urban waterways
in Britain.
6. British Waterways' cross-borough remit
enables it to make beneficial connections between different communities
and local authorities, from funding initiatives such as the SRB-funded
London's Waterway Partnership (to which Camden was a signatory),
to access improvements and opportunities for commercial freight
carrying. British Waterways' ability to invest in and deliver
capital projects and canalside improvements make them a useful
partner in supporting the borough's wider objectives.
7. On an operational level, there is joint
working around cleansing contracts, improvements to the canal
and improved partnership working with the Police and direct involvement
in the Camden Town Business Improvement District. A Strategic
Canal Partnership was launched in November 2005, and British Waterways
is an active member of this partnership.
8. Camden backs calls for greater certainty
over British Waterways' future funding in order to give confidence
to the businesses, communities and partners that value and depend
on the waterway. We would be concerned if British Waterways' ability
to maintain the network was restricted in the future, either through
reduced commercial income or grant funding. The confidence and
flexibility to take rapid, decisive advantage of development and
other opportunities are especially important to success on the
ground.
Robert Scourfield
Acting Director, Culture and Environment
London Borough of Camden
April 2007
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