YEAR OF THE
Year of the volunteer
VOLUNTEER
An IWA work party at Horseways Channel.
Mike Daines
If 2020 is the year you’re planning to get more involved with the waterways, IWA could have a volunteer role tailored to your particular skillset and interests. In the first of a series of features, we spotlight three positions to whet your altruistic appetites… Job Description:
Branch Planning Officer In a nutshell, the role of planning officer is to monitor planning applications for those that may affect local waterways. To do this you’ll likely be trawling council websites to keep up to date with the latest developments, and submitting responses of support or objection to planning applications that may impact canals or rivers in the area. A knowledge of planning issues is useful, but not essential, and the branch committee will offer advice as to what response should be submitted in specific situations. Planning applications can be found on local authority websites, and feedback can also be submitted online, so access to a computer and the internet is useful. The planning officer is also responsible for responding to wider plans issued by local authorities, and again this information can be shaped by comments from the whole committee and coordinated by the planning officer. There is scope to make of this job what the volunteer wants, including opportunity to define the geographical area you wish to cover or a particular specialism, such as heritage issues or local development frameworks.
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Case Study:
Ray Gill Planning and Navigation Officer for West London Branch
What attracted you to the role? I took up the role in 2011 in response to a request for help when our previous branch planning officer retired due to ill health. The role appealed as I thought it would allow me to discover more about the canal network in west London, including heritage issues and the pressures of new development on the waterways. It was something that would involve site visits along the canal as well as research I could do at home on the computer.
Had you ever volunteered before taking on this position? I joined IWA in 1987 and my only volunteering before taking up the planning officer position was the occasional towpath clear-up.
How many hours do you spend on the role per week? On average I probably spend up to 10 hours per week, but this varies from week to week according to the number and the size of new planning applications adjacent to the canal. The West London Branch has 36 miles of canal falling within the boundaries of nine local authorities, as well as the newly created Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. IWA Waterways |
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