E
MAKE TOMORROW DIFFERENT FOR THE
RIVER DOUGLAS CATCHMENT Stage One Report Nov 2013 Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
1. INTRODUCTION
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Together with its main tributaries, the River Douglas crosses numerous political boundaries and doesn’t touch the popular imagination in the same way as great river basins such as the Mersey or the Thames. Over 800,000 people live within the catchment area which is a vitally important water system covering 400km2. Sustaining and improving water and environmental quality means thinking at the scale of the whole catchment. That’s why Defra and the Environment Agency has formed 15 national Catchment Pilots, including one for the River Douglas led by Groundwork. It’s about involving people and organisations across the catchment in our local water quality. If we all work together to address the issues facing our watercourses, so much more can be achieved. We’ve worked with a range of organisations and individuals to begin the process of creating long-term goals for the catchment and a series of potential projects. The aim is to focus on the management of land and water in a co-ordinated and sustainable way to balance environmental, economic and social demands at a catchment scale. The framework in this report is just one step towards achieving the requirements of the Water Framework Directive and improving and enhancing the water quality and environment of the River Douglas. There is still much work to do in mapping current and potential activity across the catchment and creating a full action plan that can be adopted together – but we have made a significant step forward in collaborative working towards common goals.
River Douglas Catchment Report
The River Yarrow, one of the Douglas’s tributaries
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
2. OUR CATCHMENT
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Geography The catchment area isn’t just made up of the River Douglas - it contains many local watercourses such as the River Lostock, River Yarrow, Carr Brook, Wynott Brook, River Tawd, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Wigan Flashes and Hesketh Marshes. Wigan is the most significant centre of population. In total there are twenty river bodies and six lakes.
The history In medieval times our river catchment was clean and fast flowing, ideal for corn mills. This all changed in the industrial revolution, when mining had a dramatic impact on water quality. Orange coloured drainage water discharged into the river, with one stream known locally as the ‘Yellow Brook’ Demand for the movement of coal increased, leading to the River Douglas being made navigable for cargo through the construction of locks, dams, and the straightening and widening of the river. Later this was made obsolete by the Leeds & Liverpool canal, but man’s interference with the river’s flow remains. The River Douglas is still a navigable river below Tarleton and forms
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
4 an important part of the national waterways network, linking the Leeds & Liverpool Canal with the Ribble and on to the Lancaster Canal.
Water quality today Water quality varies within the catchment, from good on stretches of the River Yarrow to bad in places such as Poolstock Brook and Tara Carr Gutter. The catchment faces many pressures from rural and urban pollution. According to the Environment Agency over 40% of waterbodies feature one of the issues shown in the box to the right as a reason for failure. By far the biggest reason for failure is physical modifications – the River Douglas catchment has been particularly ill-served by man’s intervention in the forms of culverts, weirs and artificial banking etc. Some aspects of water quality are improving though, with investment in infrastructure taking place. United Utilities have made signifiant progress during their 3.5bn five year Asset Management Plan, with work at wastewater treatment plants at Horwich and Hoscar impacting positively on local water quality. A £10m sewer improvement project currently taking place in Wigan aims to reduce storm overflows of wastewater into the River Douglas.
CATCHMENT PRESSSURES 40% of waterbodies feature one of the following issues as a reason for failure: Physical modifications Pollution from rural areas Pollution from wastewater Pollution from towns, cities and transport Issues around the catchment:: Upper catchment:
Wigan:
Agriculture associated run-off
Culverting
Horwich:
Wastewater overflows
Domestic wrong connections
Domestic wrong connections
Inflows from industrial areas
Industrial inputs
Storm sewage spills
Rufford
Adlington:
Inputs from wastewater treatment works
Pollution incidents from industrial sources Wastewater overflows
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
3. HOW WE WORKED The aim of our Pilot Catchment initiative is to produce a catchment plan which will consist of a clear action plan for the River Douglas and tributaries focusing on land management and water issues. This action plan will be informed by a clear engagement process with members of the public, community groups and other stakeholders with the aim of improving the understanding of the river and the catchment and identifying the key issues to be developed. In developing our plan, our aims were: To engage with a wide range of stakeholders, agencies, general public, water experts and water regulators throughout the catchment to capture a holistic and representative range of views; To increase knowledge and understanding of issues affecting local water quality and the Water Framework Directive; To promote collaboration and a dialogue between various stakeholders to enable a prioritisation of issues within the catchment; To employ a range of methodologies within a catchment-wide programme of stakeholder engagement, with events and workshops designed to access and engage the widest possible group of stakeholders. We wanted to capture a wide range of views - from public, private and voluntary sectors and crucially, from ordinary people living across the catchment area. We wanted to bring together water experts and the general public to get a better view of the catchment and to promote understanding of water quality issues and the Water Framework Directive. And
River Douglas Catchment Report
5 we wanted to kick off a process of collaboration and dialogue that could enable us to prioritise the issues facing the River Douglas Catchment. The catchment is diverse in landscape and geography, with rural and urban areas, as well as freshwater upland moorland to the east, and more brackish and estuarine environment to the north and west. In our work we’ve engaged people in a number of areas representative of that diversity, and using a range of engagement techniques.
The process Public survey We asked people living across the catchment to tell us what they think of their local rivers and issues relating to water quality. We did that faceto-face, and also online using social media. You can read a summary of results in section 5.
Mass participative interactive engagement We took our displays to locations around Skelmersdale, asking schools, community and youth groups to complete our interactive prioritisation game. The exercises were the same at all sessions to ensure the collection of consistent information and comparable data for analysis. Using cards listing themes arising from our public survey, the groups played a prioritisation game. As a wide variety of ages and abilities were to participate in the action planning, we designed the game to be simple, hands-on and fun as well as informative and a way of creating and opening up avenues for discussion.
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6 Deliberative Forum meetings These took place in Wigan, bringing together a multi-stakeholder group of organisations and community members to collectively develop an understanding of issues and opportunities in relation to the river and its wider environment. Invitations were issued to a selected number of local authorities, agencies, wildlife groups, community groups and local businesses. The forum attendees worked together to scope out existing projects around the catchment, and to work up mini-action plans for some of the issues identified by the public.
River Walkovers These guided visual surveys of the river took place in the upper part of the catchment near Horwich, around the Peal Brook tributary, and the source of the Douglas in the West Pennine Moors, and were conducted by local volunteers walking together with the Environment Agency and United Utilities. The walkover provided an opportunity for a detailed visual discussion of the river and the surrounding environment. The location was chosen due to the wide variety of landscape and river features: agricultural land and areas of high conservation value such as moorlands and peat bogs around Rivington Moor; and modifications to the river channel and a variety of water inputs around the urbanised environment of Horwich.
Volunteers surveying watercourse as part of the River Walkovers
The group later made recommendations for actions to improve water quality and the surrounding environment based on the observed river conditions. Our report brings together all of the findings from these various strands of work.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
4. WHAT THE PEOPLE THINK
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Results from the public survey What do people like and dislike about their local rivers and waterways? The diagram shows most repeated answers, with likes in blue and dislikes in brown. Size of circle indicates greater number of responses.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
8 What do people think are the biggest factors that threaten river health? (compare with the EA factors, page 3)
River Douglas Catchment Report
What changes do people think should be made?
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
5. OUR FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
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A. Together we can create a cleaner catchment
B. Together we can create a greener catchment
The overall aim of this pilot project is to find new ways to work together to improve water quality. That’s our highest priority. We all need to do what we can to ensure our water system is sustainable for years to come.
Our blue corridors are a significant habitat for wildlife but more needs to be done to improve their biodiversity. A healthy eco-system goes hand in hand with improved water quality.
Since the decline of local heavy industries, water quality has improved significantly but we have identified some particular areas of worry – especially domestic misconnections in parts of Horwich and Skelmersdale and pollution and contamination from both point and diffuse sources. What needs to happen? We need to tackle the problem of domestic misconnections through both education and practical action
Throughout our consultation, particular emphasis has been placed on removal of invasive species. What needs to happen? A concerted effort to tackle invasive species Re-naturalise culverted waterways and flood plains wherever possible Improve habitats in the riverside environment
We need to work with businesses to reduce their impact
Create joined-up infrastructure for nature to prevent ecological fragmentation.
We need to work with farmers to support them in reducing impact and understanding responsibilities
Remove barriers to fish migration
Promote sustainable drainage systems (SUDS)
Restore upland wetlands – benefiting wildlife and reducing flooding.
Continue to reduce the impact of wastewater. Develop and enforce planning guidance and building control measures in respect of new housing and industrial developments
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
10 C. Together we can create an accessible catchment
D. Together we can create a safer catchment
Across the catchment, access to waterways is generally poor. In many places they are completely inaccessible, while where access exists routeways are often in poor condition. Maintenance has often been lacking and people are not able to make use of these local assets.
Many people feel unsafe around the urban parts of our waterways. Anti-social behaviour is common in some areas, especially around Wigan town centre and Skelmersdale. Vandalism, poor footpath conditions, lack of lighting and crime has led to a perception that the river corridors are unsafe.
This needs to change, if people are to become more engaged with their local rivers and the catchment as a whole.
These areas should be assets for our towns – not places to be avoided.
What needs to happen?
What needs to happen?
Improve existing access to waterways, especially through re-naturalisation of modified waterways
Community clean-up campaigns
Develop new walkways and cycleways in priority locations
Improvements to physical environment such as cutting back of vegetation, installation of lighting
Join up waterways with population centres through signage
Access improvements
Ensure improvements to our waterways have a higher priority within local authority planning documents, with ‘blue infrastructure’ embedded in local strategies
Positive activities to engage young people with waterways
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
11 E. Together we can celebrate, promote and enjoy our catchment The River Douglas has a very low profile throughout its course, especially in Wigan town centre but also in Parbold and West Lancashire. The River is often forgotten, and needs a much higher profile. As one of the earliest partly canalised rivers, the Douglas has many little known heritage features – and could play a much greater role in local tourism and economic development. With some practical changes and some ambition, we can make the Douglas more visible and enjoyable for local people.
What needs to happen? Make river more visible through signage and physical changes to banking etc Improve access to the river for walkers, cyclists, anglers and canoeists Identify and promote heritage features Develop initiatives that connect up waterways and promote their use Develop waterside recreational and sporting opportunities
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
6. ASPIRATIONAL PROJECTS During this first phase of work we’ve identified a number of pieces of work that people and organisations believe will help improve the River Douglas catchment. Some of these are long-term and aspirational in nature while others are more practical and achievable in the shorter-term. They represent the ambitions and priorities of those who engaged with our work, rather than being an exhaustive list of current or proposed activity around the catchment. Some of these are outlined below, and will be further explored in the next phase of our work.
12 Project 1: Invasive Species Mapping and Eradication Aim: Map the prevalence and location of invasive species, and develop a long-term strategy to eradicate them. Status: Partially underway (mapping of parts of the area has been carried out by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust) Location: Whole catchment Framework: A,B We need to recognise that invasive species do not respect political boundaries, and tend to spread along river corridors and waterways. Action taken in one area can be compromised by a lack of action elsewhere. Therefore we propose a joined-up, catchment-based approach to tackling invasive species – bringing together specialist expertise and local volunteers. This needs to begin with a concerted effort to map the prevalence and location of invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed across the catchment. Initial data from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust from some parts of the catchment is expected during 2013. Potential organisation(s): Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, Local Authorities.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
13 Project 2: Habitat development
Project 3: Involving young people
Aim: Development of a long-term strategy to improve habitats for wildlife in key areas within the catchment
Aim: Identification of initiatives that can involve young people in their local waterways, reducing anti-social behaviour
Status: Proposed
Status: Proposed
Location: Whole catchment
Location: Mid catchment, especially Skelmersdale and Wigan
Framework: A,B
Framework: A,B,D
During our consultation work, the need to take action to improve biodiversity emerged as a priority. In particular, work to protect endangered species, habitat restoration and planting of native species were recurring themes.
There is a wealth of evidence to show that positive environmental activities for young people can create a sense of ownership, reducing anti-social behaviour while at the same time boosting skills and motivation. We propose the identification of a number of projects that can involve young people with their local waterways – both new initiatives, and potentially the re-alignment of some existing NEET-focused work to include waterways activities.
Good work is already in progress, such as the WREN-funded Wigan Wetlands Project. This aims to make significant improvement’s to Wigan’s wetlands from a biodiversity perspective. The funding will allow the management of the area on a landscape scale, increasing the ease of target species movement between sites and across the landscape as a whole. Current obstacles to the free movement of species will be removed through active and positive habitat management.
Potential organisation(s): Groundwork, Friends of Douglas Valley, Wigan Council, West Lancashire District Council
More work is required to understand the other priorities for action at a catchment level. Potential organisation(s): Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, Local Authorities, Local Nature Partnerships.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
14 Project 4: Environmental action campaign Aim: Reclaim our waterways from anti-social behaviour in key locations
Project 5: Wigan’s Riverside
Status: Proposed
Aim: Transforming the River Douglas through Wigan, improving access, recreation and economic opportunities
Location: Mid catchment, especially Skelmersdale and Wigan
Status: Proposed
Framework: D
Location: Mid-catchment (Wigan)
Quick-win, remedial action where there are ‘hot spots’ of anti social behaviour, combined with a PR campaign to ‘reclaim our waterways’. We need to identify the worst locations for anti-social behaviour and take action to reduce it, whether this is through simple clean-ups and removal of graffiti etc, or improved lighting / physical changes.
Framework: C, D, E
Running alongside action on the ground, a PR campaign through local media and social media demonstrating how communities are reclaiming their waterways, and an environmental education campaign within targeted schools. Potential organisation(s): Groundwork, Friends of Douglas Valley, Wigan Council, West Lancashire District Council, Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Constabulary
River Douglas Catchment Report
The development of Wigan owes much to the River Douglas, but today the river has a very low profile within the town. This is an aspirational project to recreate the river corridor through Wigan, creating new opportunities for local people and businesses. Two initial opportunities have been identified. Firstly, the creation of a promenade along the river from Tesco to Darlington St, providing a new walking and cycling corridor just to the east of the town centre. Secondly, developing the river corridor in the area behind the DW Stadium and Martland Mill, creating new footpaths and access points in this ‘leisure corridor’ between the Leeds & Liverpool canal and Robin Park. Potential organisation(s): Local Authorities
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15 Project 6: ‘Douglas Way’
Project 7: Douglas Heritage Trail
Aim: Create a high profile walking and/or cycling route
Aim: Celebrate historic features of our waterways
Status: Proposed
Status: Proposed
Location: Whole catchment
Location: Whole catchment
Framework: C, E
Framework: C, E
This is an aspirational and ambitious long-term project. The goal is to create a walking or cycling route that links accessible parts of the River Douglas and tributaries and the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Together with coherent signage and interpretation features, this would help to boost the profile of the river and catchment.
This is an aspirational long-term project. There are key locations on the River Douglas and tributaries that have significant heritage value. An initiative focusing on improving and celebrating some of these key locations would boost the identity of the catchment, attract visitors and potentially have an economic impact.
West Lancashire District Council have commissioned a feasibility study for a Linear Park along the canal and River Douglas at Tarleton and Hesketh Bank – meaning that part of this project is already under active consideration.
This aims to create a walking or cycling route that links accessible parts of the River Douglas and tributaries and the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Together with coherent signage and interpretation features, this would help to boost the profile of the river and catchment.
Potential organisation(s): Groundwork, Local Authorities
Potential organisation(s): Groundwork, Local Authorities, Landowners, Canal & River Trust
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
16 Project 8: Helping businesses to be more responsible Aim: Engage businesses that impact negatively on the quality of the catchment, especially supermarkets, with the aim of reducing that impact Status: Proposed Location: Whole catchment Framework: A, D We need to ensure that businesses take greater responsibility for their impact on the catchment, through engagement and local campaigning. In particular, the ongoing problem of dumping of supermarket trolleys and waste has been highlighted through our consultation. We need to build on the existing ‘Trolleywise’ scheme – and shame those retailers that do not play their part. A programme of business engagement should aim to provide opportunities for local sponsorship and employee engagement with the waterway environment. Potential organisation(s): Groundwork, Local Authorities, Retailers, United Utilities
Project 9: River schools Aim: Promote actions to improve water quality within schools as one way of reaching the wider community. Status: Proposed Location: Mid-catchment Framework: A, C, E A programme of environmental education, using the venue and subject of rivers and water quality to teach a range of skills and educate children and the wider community about local water /environment issues. Involvement of young people in practical action such as clean-ups, but also in the development of local campaigns around subjects such as fly-tipping, littering and dog mess. The River Schools programme would have many cross-cutting educational and curriculum benefits and act as a catalyst for wider support from businesses and the local community. Potential organisation(s): Local schools, Groundwork, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, United Utilities
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
17 Project 10: Connect Right Douglas Aim: Reduce the number of domestic misconnections in targeted areas of the River Douglas Catchment Status: Proposed Location: Horwich, Wigan, other hotspots Framework: A A programme building on Water UK’s ‘Connect Right’ campaign to significantly reduce domestic misconnections in targeted areas of the catchment. This would involve identifying specific properties and enabling remedial action to take place; and an intensive education campaign amongst both householders and plumbers within the area. This could be combined with a broader water waste programme that seeks to move people (where beneficial to the householder) to water metering and help people reduce their usage. Potential organisation(s): United Utilities, Water UK, Environment Agency, Groundwork.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
7. CONCLUSION
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The diverse communities across the River Douglas catchment are all connected by the water that flows from high on the Pennine moors. Water quality and local environments can take a bigger leap forward if we work together at a catchment level. Badly managed, our rivers and streams can cause devastating flooding, spread pollution, form corridors of anti-social behaviour and negatively impact upon local image and economy. By working together to address problems, we can instead ensure our waterways are positive assets to our communities. High quality waterside environments are good for the environment, good for our communities and good for business. We believe that this isn’t just a job for the professionals – everybody has a big role to play in developing the future health of the catchment. In order for that to become a reality, significant work must be done to raise the profile of the catchment. Many other areas of the north west benefited from the sterling work done by the Mersey Basin Campaign’s River Valley Initiatives (RVIs) – we should learn from that legacy and see how we can apply lessons learned to the River Douglas and tributaries. Some of the challenges the catchment faces will take decades to progress. The high level of watercourse modification is an industrial legacy that will take a lot of investment over the long-term to put right. We’ve uncovered enthusiasm at the community level – people have a connection to their local waterways and know that water quality is a basic building block of human civilisation. Our challenge is to harness that enthusiasm in a climate where resources are tight.
River Douglas Catchment Report
Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
8. NEXT STEPS
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The views gathered during phase one of the Douglas Catchment Partnership will be vital in the next steps of planning and delivering for water. The Environment Agency is the overall body responsible for producing ‘River Basin Management Plans’ across England. These plans show what all the different stakeholders will be required to deliver in order to help achieve healthy rivers, lakes and groundwater across the country by 2027. There has already been one plan produced covering 2010 – 2015 and preparation is underway for the second plan which will cover 2016 – 2021. However, the Environment Agency can’t do this without the help of everyone who has a responsibility or will to protect or improve water. The Douglas Catchment sits within the North West River Basin. Currently, there is a consultation called ‘Challenges and Choices’ which explains what the Environment Agency already understands about what the problems and solutions might be facing our catchments, but also asks people what they think are the challenges and what they can do to help solve them. This consultation will run until 22 December 2013. After this, the Environment Agency will produce a Draft River Basin Management Plan which will take into account the information people provide through Challenges and Choices. They must also undertake a Cost Benefit Assessment of the actions proposed to ensure that the longterm benefits to society of investing in the water environment outweigh the costs of making the improvements. Only the actions that are deemed to be cost beneficial will be carried forward into the Draft River Basin Management Plan, but this doesn’t mean that other actions won’t happen, especially if the local desire for change is strong enough and funding can be obtained. People will be able to comment on the Draft River Basin Management Plan between June and December 2014 in order to shape River Douglas Catchment Report
the final plan which will be submitted to the Government in September 2015. Government will then decide how many of the actions are affordable and we will be able to start delivering the plan for 2016-2021. It’s vital that stakeholders on the Douglas Catchment get involved in these consultations so that all the actions that are important to them can be considered for inclusion. However, it’s also important to note that if you have actions you want to see happen, you don’t have to wait until 2016 to start! At Groundwork, we’re now starting the next phase of the River Douglas Catchment Pilot. We’ll be using the framework in this report and information from the Environment Agency’s consultation as a basis for a full Action Plan, with clear milestones. Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan
GET INVOLVED! Follow us on Twitter: @DouglasPilot Like us on Facebook: (www.facebook.com/douglascatchment)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to:
Ask us a question or sign up for more information: sara.clowes@groundwork.org.uk
John Neville, Martin Purcell, John O’Neil, Nick Clarke, Paul Foster, Margaret Valentine, Shaun Roberts, Ron Parkington, Mike Clarke, Ellen Bellshaw, Sue Bingham, Steve Bingham, Richard Storton, Helen Nigtingale, Ian Gaskell, Dean Oldham, Leon Cooper, Gleice Lima, Michael Smith, Stephen Westwood, Daniel Tiffany, Amy Lee, Paul Whitehead, Alex Finney, Kerrel Walley, Safina Nakyanzi, Matt Holker Natural England, United Utilities, Lancashire County Council, West Lancashire Borough Council, Greenspace Northwest, Chorley Borough Council, Cuerdan Valley Park Trust, Skelmersdale Sea Cadets, Tanhouse Action Group, Ashurst Residents Group, Claybrow & Holland Moor T&R, Digmoor Tenants & Residents Group, Princes Trust, BBC Radio Lancashire, Wigan & District Residents Group, St Edmunds C of E Primary School, West Lancashire College, Ribble Rivers Trust A big thanks to all those who took part in our survey, mass participation exercises and deliberative fora, and those volunteers who gave up their time to help us with the river walkovers. Written by: Lucy West and Jon Kedwards Design by: Jon Kedwards
www.groundwork.org.uk/lww