Project Details
Description
Funding from the Environment Agency, including follow-on funds, enabled this project to run from 2006-2011, providing significant impact on strategic approaches to water related sport in the UK.
The underpinning research was designed from the outset to have impact; it was commissioned by government departments and agencies as a means of generating a co-designed and co- owned evidence base from which to make policy decisions.
The research commissioned by the Environment Agency that piloted the implementation of voluntary agreements resulted in policy actions that led to the establishment of new voluntary access agreements and improved access to 70 miles of multiple-use recreational routes on four rivers in England.
As a result, the evidence has stimulated changes in policy priorities and a range of government initiatives in an area where past policy has been largely ineffective. These policy measures have, in turn, resulted in improved recreational access to inland water, which has generated economic and social benefits for local communities as well as improved health and wellbeing for those who have been able to take advantage of the new access .
The underpinning research was designed from the outset to have impact; it was commissioned by government departments and agencies as a means of generating a co-designed and co- owned evidence base from which to make policy decisions.
The research commissioned by the Environment Agency that piloted the implementation of voluntary agreements resulted in policy actions that led to the establishment of new voluntary access agreements and improved access to 70 miles of multiple-use recreational routes on four rivers in England.
As a result, the evidence has stimulated changes in policy priorities and a range of government initiatives in an area where past policy has been largely ineffective. These policy measures have, in turn, resulted in improved recreational access to inland water, which has generated economic and social benefits for local communities as well as improved health and wellbeing for those who have been able to take advantage of the new access .
Key findings
A range of government bodies have acted on recommendations and knowledge produced by the UoB research leading to policy innovations and changes to expenditure to support new initiatives.
An independent evaluation undertaken by Ipsos Mori of the four routes found they were viewed positively by sporting, land owning and other stakeholders. The research also influenced the decisions of 300 landowners or tenants, who, in response to the participatory methods, gave their written support for the new voluntary agreements and improvements in access to water.
In Wales, public and private-sector organisations have also improved access to water in response to the `Splash' fund and the regional water recreation strategy devised by the UoB. Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water has delivered new access and improved water-sports facilities on four of their largest reservoirs. Similarly, the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia National Park authorities, in response to the regional strategy, witnessed a greater engagement with water-recreation issues and are investing in improvements to visitor centre sites.
The Welsh Government has worked with partners to implement the regional water recreation strategy for Wales devised by UoB which has subsequently influenced policy expenditure, guidance and legislation.
Delivery of the strategy was a priority for relevant Welsh Government-sponsored bodies (5.2). In 2008, in response to the 12 priorities set out in the regional strategy, the Welsh Government established the `Splash' Water Recreation Challenge Fund.
In 2009, new planning guidance in the Technical Advice Note on Planning for Sport and Recreation required Welsh local authorities to address the University of Brighton's strategy in relevant policies, noting that the strategy is: `designed to develop awareness of, and facilities for water based sport and recreation in an environmentally sensitive way'.
The Welsh Government decided not to introduce legislation on access to inland water and to followed the University of Brighton's negotiated voluntary approach, an approach supported by various consultees, including the National Trust, the Country Land and Business Association, the Countryside Alliance and the Angling Trust. The research has also been used as contributing evidence in the 2013 Welsh Government review of legislation on access and outdoor recreation, which includes access to inland water.
Publications
RAVENSCROFT, N., CHURCH, A., GILCHRIST, P. and HEYS, B. (2013) Property ownership, resource use and the `gift of nature'. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 31, pp.451-466. [Quality validation: output in leading peer-reviewed journal.]
CHURCH, A. and RAVENSCROFT, N. (2011) Politics, research and the natural environment: the lifeworlds of water-based sport and recreation in Wales. Leisure Studies 30(4), pp.387—405.
CHURCH, A., GILCHRIST, P. and RAVENSCROFT, N. (2007) Negotiating recreational access under asymmetrical power relations: the case of inland waterways in England. Society and Natural Resources 20(3), pp.213—227.
RAVENSCROFT, N. and CHURCH, A. (2011) The attitudes of recreational user representatives to pollution reduction and the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. Land Use Policy 28, pp.167-174. [Quality validation: output in leading peer-reviewed journal.]
An independent evaluation undertaken by Ipsos Mori of the four routes found they were viewed positively by sporting, land owning and other stakeholders. The research also influenced the decisions of 300 landowners or tenants, who, in response to the participatory methods, gave their written support for the new voluntary agreements and improvements in access to water.
In Wales, public and private-sector organisations have also improved access to water in response to the `Splash' fund and the regional water recreation strategy devised by the UoB. Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water has delivered new access and improved water-sports facilities on four of their largest reservoirs. Similarly, the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia National Park authorities, in response to the regional strategy, witnessed a greater engagement with water-recreation issues and are investing in improvements to visitor centre sites.
The Welsh Government has worked with partners to implement the regional water recreation strategy for Wales devised by UoB which has subsequently influenced policy expenditure, guidance and legislation.
Delivery of the strategy was a priority for relevant Welsh Government-sponsored bodies (5.2). In 2008, in response to the 12 priorities set out in the regional strategy, the Welsh Government established the `Splash' Water Recreation Challenge Fund.
In 2009, new planning guidance in the Technical Advice Note on Planning for Sport and Recreation required Welsh local authorities to address the University of Brighton's strategy in relevant policies, noting that the strategy is: `designed to develop awareness of, and facilities for water based sport and recreation in an environmentally sensitive way'.
The Welsh Government decided not to introduce legislation on access to inland water and to followed the University of Brighton's negotiated voluntary approach, an approach supported by various consultees, including the National Trust, the Country Land and Business Association, the Countryside Alliance and the Angling Trust. The research has also been used as contributing evidence in the 2013 Welsh Government review of legislation on access and outdoor recreation, which includes access to inland water.
Publications
RAVENSCROFT, N., CHURCH, A., GILCHRIST, P. and HEYS, B. (2013) Property ownership, resource use and the `gift of nature'. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 31, pp.451-466. [Quality validation: output in leading peer-reviewed journal.]
CHURCH, A. and RAVENSCROFT, N. (2011) Politics, research and the natural environment: the lifeworlds of water-based sport and recreation in Wales. Leisure Studies 30(4), pp.387—405.
CHURCH, A., GILCHRIST, P. and RAVENSCROFT, N. (2007) Negotiating recreational access under asymmetrical power relations: the case of inland waterways in England. Society and Natural Resources 20(3), pp.213—227.
RAVENSCROFT, N. and CHURCH, A. (2011) The attitudes of recreational user representatives to pollution reduction and the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. Land Use Policy 28, pp.167-174. [Quality validation: output in leading peer-reviewed journal.]
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/04/09 → 31/03/11 |
Funding
- Environment Agency
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