THE STORY OF CARP (The Canal and Riverside Partnership) REPORT FOR THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING To explain where CARP is today I would like to tell you a little of the history of the partnership. When the Independent Council was first elected in 1995 there was already a canal side group led by John Cook and Peter Ginger; that group arose out of criticisms of Kingsgate. They set about raising awareness of the assets of the canal. I remember this particularly as they asked me to lead a walk and talk to them about the history of the waterway. They were a non-political council-led group but had no intention of actually doing any projects requiring capital expenditure. When I joined the Council in 1995 I decided that if possible I wanted to give the existing group a mission actually to improve our waterways through Berkhamsted. Within British Waterways (BW) I had a staunch supporter who was immensely helpful. There were also two very active councillors Kenneth Duval and Peter Such. After long consultation with Gino Daurat, the architect of Waitrose, the CARP lock arms were incorporated into the Waitrose design. Mark Lloyd of British Waterways supplied the arms at no cost to us and the John Lewis Partnership agreed to maintain them. We had a number of very fruitful meetings with the landscape architects and the John Lewis Partnership. The result was the very pleasant area we now enjoy. Our original plans were for a footbridge across the Bulbourne (A Monet type wooden bridge) leading to a family picnic area on the Dacorum land just beyond and adjacent to the canal towpath. Unfortunately this proved too expensive at the time – hopefully we will achieve it in the future! Our next joint activity was the clearance of the old gas works railway alongside the canal, which took coal to the gas works. This was done in partnership with Dacorum Council. Following this came the old Waitrose Canal mural delightfully produced by local school children. It has now been dismantled and put into store. It was great fun and we hope at some point to find a new site to put it on display. We then set up CARP as a legal entity with the help of an Intermediate Labour Market placement, a very helpful company secretary. This was funded by the EU via Dacorum. A design and feasibility study was undertaken by British Waterways on behalf of CARP, jointly funded by BW, Dacorum and Berkhamsted Town Council, again in approximately the same proportions – 50% British Waterways, 37.5% Dacorum and the final 12.5% Berkhamsted Council. The Castle Street Bridge redevelopment with the seating and disabled access was our next major project, again funded in the same proportions. This area had been a dreadful mess for years and is now enjoyed by many people including those with disabilities. The obvious next project was to refurbish the canal towpath so that it was suitable for wheelchairs and mothers with push chairs. The first section of towpath was refurbished with the help of another part-time Intermediate Labour Market assistant, who masterminded the engineering requirements. Our daffodil planting came about as a result of community donations of nearly £500. The next project was the educational plinths (I believe the accepted term is interpretation panels), conceived, written and designed by David Hilling and me and made possible by the enthusiasm of British Waterways. The painted bridge signs were designed by me and executed by Phil Speight, a well-known waterways artist. This was funded in the same proportions as the previous projects. Our next project was the second phase of the towpath, funded in the same proportions. The second host of daffodils was Berkhamsted Town Council funded. The idea of the waterways leaflet was fist aired in early 1998 and the first £2000 was allocated by Dacorum Council from Town Centres Marketing. BW promised £2000 in the year 2000 and Berkhamsted put in the final £1.000. David and I wrote it for CARP with assistance from Alan Prest of British Waterways and Maria Baveta on technical matters, CARP is a partnership between local stakeholders in our waterside environment. We are thrilled with the projects we have been able to complete. It has been accepted that support for this project on the scale that is required to make a real impact has become more and more difficult to raise. We have been delighted that so much support as been pledged to date. So far in excess of £150,000 has been raised. The CARP Committee made the decisions on the nature of the projects. CARP IS ABSOLUTELY NON POLITICAL. British Waterways is totally non political, the borough council was labour led during the first four years of CARP and conservative led during the second four years. The Town Council was Independent led during the first four years and liberal democrat during the second four years; any claim to CARP as any kind of political achievement is totally inaccurate. IT IS A TRIBUTE TO TRUE PARTNERSHIP WORKING. British Waterways and Dacorum cannot be expected to put in anything like as much in the future as their commitment to the canal side Paper Trail in Dacorum, an immensely worthwhile project that is taking considerable funds. It was therefore decided that in the future we needed to look at sponsorship for our community projects. To this end we decided on a schools competition, the results of which will be exhibited widely linked with opportunities for continued investment in the canal project by the community, particularly involving young people’s activities. British Waterways and Dacorum have funded the Schools project. Work has been carried out initially by David and me and then with a great deal of help from British Waterways and Town Centres Marketing at Dacorum Council. There will goodie bags for all participants and prizes for the winners supplied by British Waterways and Dacorum Council. Berkhamsted Council have made available for daffodil bulbs a further £200 which has purchased 80 sacks, thanks to the generosity of the growers who let us have them at a much reduced price. The bulbs are currently being planted not only along the canal banks, but also in a number of other places where they can be enjoyed by townspeople. The planting was courtesy of the Hertfordshire Probation Service, who have also done a wonderful job clearing rubbish from the land adjacent to Broadwater Lock and the River Bulbourne. They are currently helping CARP by refurbishing the Victorian railings opposite the station. This work has needed doing for years, so we are delighted to have got it done. We anticipate that our next project will be to continue the towpath refurbishment from Billet Lane to Northchurch. This will be jointly funded by British Waterways and Berkhamsted Town Council. We are also hoping to champion children’s public art along the waterside. This is not just a partnership between the organisations that pay, but involves the community, so please join us in making our waterways even more of an enjoyable public amenity. Cllr. Lindy Foster Weinreb
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Berkhamsted Citizens Association Berkhamsted Town Council Berkhamsted Youth Council British Waterways Dacorum Borough Council Environment Agency Groundwork Hertfordshire Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust Inland Waterways Association | |
LINKS TO OTHER CARP PAGES Introducing CARP | |
