Preferred Options

4 Spatial Portrait, Issues and Objectives
Para 4.7 could also make reference to the canals within Warwick District which are managed by the Trust, comprising nearly 40km of the Grand Union, North Stratford and South Stratford Canals. These inland waterways are of historic interest and importance, passing through a number of conservation areas within the District and representing important features within the landscape. The Trust also considers that they are worthy of inclusion on Map 1 along with the Main Rivers already identified on the map.

8 Economy
The Trust considers that canal corridors represent an opportunity for environmental improvement and regeneration within urban areas as well as a contributor towards local economies in rural areas. The canal is a valuable multi-functional community resource which can serve in a variety of roles including:
* An agent of or catalyst for regeneration;
* A contributor to water supply and transfer, drainage and flood management;
* A tourism, cultural, sport, leisure and recreation resource;
* A heritage landscape, open space and ecological resource;
* Sustainable modes of transport; and
* Routes for telecommunication.
(TCPA Policy Advice Note: Inland Waterways: Unlocking the potential and securing the future of inland waterways through the planning system (2009)).
The canal can therefore contribute significantly towards the vitality and viability of the District. Waterways contribute to regional and local economies through providing tourist/visitor attractions and supporting SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and jobs within the marine sector in manufacturing, tourism and services and can act as a focus for urban renaissance, regeneration and diversification in urban and rural contexts. The economic benefits that can be achieved from maximising the multi-functional potential of the canal network can cut across a range of themes in the draft Local Plan, including the enhancement of the historic environment, leisure, tourism and recreation, promoting healthy and inclusive communities and green infrastructure provision. The potential to deliver such wide-ranging economic benefits and to support economic growth (a core aim of current government advice and guidance contained in the NPPF) is worthy of recognition within PO8.

The Trust considers that Para 11.1 should also refer to the canal network within the District as an important heritage asset, particularly given its multi-functional nature, which enables it to contribute positively towards education, culture, leisure, tourism and the wider economy.

We consider that PO11 could reasonably include specific reference to the canal network as part of the final paragraph which encourages appropriate regeneration of the historic environment, given the range of roles the network can play in contributing towards the regeneration of urban areas and supporting both urban and rural economies. An explicit reference to the canal network would help demonstrate the positive strategy for conserving and enjoying the historic environment advocated by the NPPF; specifically, paragraph 126 of the NPPF states that LPAs should take into account the following:

"the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation; the wider social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits that conservation of the historic environment can bring; the desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness; and opportunities to draw on the contribution made by the historic environment to the character of a place".

The active encouragement of appropriate development associated with and supporting the canal network can help to realise the potential of the network as a valuable multi-functional asset, at the same time as increasing general accessibility to it as a historic asset which makes a significant contribution towards the character of the places it passes through. The Trust therefore considers that appropriate development can enhance the character of the canals as a historic asset and that this should be acknowledged within the Preferred Option.

We support the aim of seeking to maximise energy efficiency in developments, reduce carbon emissions and encourage use of renewable energy sources. We would comment that 'Inland waterways are supporting climate change, carbon reduction and environmental sustainability initiatives by:
* Assisting in the mitigation of flood risk
* Playing a role in urban cooling
* Providing sustainable transport
* Providing biodiversity and forming ecological corridors; and
* Contributing to regional and local renewable energy targets through onshore hydro electric power, and the use of canal water for heating and cooling buildings'

(TCPA Policy Advice Note: Inland Waterways: Unlocking the potential and securing the future of inland waterways through the planning system (2009)).
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The role that waterways can play should be recognised and supported, and in particular PO12 could refer to consideration of utilising canal water for heating/cooling of buildings where practicable.

Para 13.5 acknowledges the importance of access to open space in facilitating social inclusion, educational opportunities and supporting healthy lifestyles. Waterways are a community asset which is generally easily accessible and can promote community cohesion through the provision of significant leisure and recreation opportunities for the whole community, and are part of the "natural health service", encouraging and supporting physical and healthy outdoor activity. Waterways can also be used by communities for education (bringing the National Curriculum alive at Key Stage 2 and act as an outdoor classroom facility) and skills and training (waterways provide an opportunity for volunteering). Regional health and well-being partnerships and NICE are also promoting waterways as a local and community resource. Waterways can act as a focus for regeneration schemes to improve the overall quality of life and tackle deprivation. As such, the Trust considers that it would be appropriate to make specific reference to the value of canals and their towpaths in contributing to achieving more inclusive and healthier communities, and that to do so reflects government advice and guidance within the NPPF which seeks to encourage planning policies which protect and enhance access to open spaces (Para 75).

PO13 acknowledges the importance of maximising linkages and access to the wider countryside, a role which canal towpaths can and do fulfil, and which is worthy of specific reference, although it is important to also acknowledge that there is often a need to upgrade towpaths to cope with increased usage generated by development close to, or associated with, the canal network.

Para 14.6 refers to the Council's Vision and Strategy, and the importance of providing a "comprehensive sustainable transport package including... traffic free routes... cycle and footpath networks". Waterways can provide routes for walking and cycling and can link into existing footpath routes to offer alternative means of travel to the private motor car and thus widen travel choices as well as encouraging healthy lifestyles. The towpath network can provide a motor-vehicle-free environment for people to use, thus increasing safety for both pedestrians and cyclists, and helping to meet the aims of the NPPF in facilitating wider options for sustainable transport.

We consider that PO14 should include reference to the canal towpaths within the section on Sustainable Forms for Transport. Waterways can provide routes for walking and cycling and can link into existing footpath routes to offer alternative means of travel to the private motor car and thus widen travel choices as well as encouraging healthy lifestyles. The towpath network can provide a motor-vehicle-free environment for people to use, thus increasing safety for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Inland waterways can contribute towards the provision of significant local and strategic Green Infrastructure, as they provide important wildlife corridors and can support significant biodiversity along their length. The definition of green infrastructure includes "blue infrastructure and blue spaces" such as waterways, towpaths and their environs. We therefore consider that PO15, in addition to identifying river corridors as opportunities for creation or enhancement of green infrastructure, should refer to the canal network and the opportunities it also presents in this regard.