28 C O N T E X T 9 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 7 A number of them are fully-fledged IHBC members who worked previously as conservation officers at local authorities and have a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience. Their work at British Waterways is varied and they deal with a range of issues across their respective waterway business units. A typical workload includes listed building, scheduled monument and conservation area consents, advice on heritage repair methods and materials, heritage assessments in advance of major works and developments, commissioning of archaeological recording, advice on disposals, and the reduction of numbers of buildings at risk. According to British Waterways’ State of the Waterways Heritage report, in March 2005 there were 125 buildings at risk on its estate. By March 2007 this number had fallen to fewer than 70. This reduction follows determined efforts by several business units with small numbers of buildings at risk to drive these down to nothing through negotiation, repair or the development of management agreements with local authorities. Preparing for future changes to the heritage protection system is a British Waterways target. Management agreements or heritage partnership agreements are part of this preparation. British Waterways’ estate, in single ownership and scattered with heritage assets Left: British Waterways contractor Morrison is carrying out brick repairs to the remains of Foxton Inclined Plane, a scheduled monument in Leicestershire. Right: IHBC member Lizey Turner, British Waterways West Midlands heritage advisor is shown inspecting the historic chamber of Lock 22, South Stratford Canal. Left: Peter Chowns, British Waterways South East heritage manager, is shown standing beside Bridge 47 (Grand Union Canal), a Grade II listed building recently repaired and removed from the South Northamptonshire District Council buildings-at-risk register. Right: IHBC member Andrew Lawson, owner of Limecraft, stonemason and lime expert, leads a practical training day for British Waterways staff in Yorkshire. comprising oft-repeated forms, lends itself particularly well to this treatment. Heritage partnership agreements are being piloted for lengths of canal and high-value heritage sites on the Lancaster Canal, Rochdale Canal and Walsall Canal, and at Foxton Locks in Leicestershire. Further British Waterways heritage targets include an insistence on 100 per cent compliance with consent procedures and conditions, continued training of staff in heritage awareness and core practical skills (such as the use of lime-based mortars) and a continuing reduction in numbers of buildings at risk. Waterways for Tomorrow states that ‘the government supports the protection, conservation and enhancement of the waterways’ heritage’ and that ‘high standards of protection and conservation must be applied to prevent the character of the system from being eroded’. With its front-line heritage advisers and a generally proheritage senior management, British Waterways has every reason to be proud of its recent progress in securing and sustaining the waterways heritage for future generations. Nigel Crowe is the head of heritage for British Waterways.
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