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Clear Access , Clear Waters campaign vision shared at event in Westminster www . britishcanoeing . org . uk
A team from British Canoeing relaunched our Access & Environment Charter at a special event in Westminster , in June .
The last charter , promoting the Clear Access , Clear Waters campaign , was published in 2018 , and it set out our vision for fair , shared , sustainable access to waters in England and Wales .
Since then we have been through the Covid pandemic which reaffirmed our belief why access to blue space matters for our health and wellbeing .
Our event was hosted by Conservative MP Pauline Latham OBE and Labour MP Kim Leadbeater , who both spoke at the event in support of our priorities for action .
Jim McMahon , the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment , Food and Rural Affairs , also made a speech in which he expressed support for British Canoeing ’ s vision .
He also expressed his disgust at the state of our rivers and called for water companies to take more responsibility .
“ Let ’ s hold the water company bosses to account ,” he said . “ Let ’ s deliver not just good access , but good quality of life for working people too .”
Through our Clear Access , Clear Waters campaign we have done some great work in championing the case for change and to make a difference in protecting our blue spaces .
The new charter reaffirms those commitments set out five years ago , but we are tirelessly pushing for the policy changes we desire .
Change is more important than ever , these are the priorities that we presented at our event in parliament ...
> Expand our freedom to enjoy more of our inland waters
> Go further , faster to recover our blue spaces from pollution
> Educate , inspire and inform responsible , sustainable behaviour
Members of British Canoeing staff and our Board were joined by volunteer ambassadors , who were able to share their personal stories of why blue space matters so much to our community .
We are calling on the government to review its current stance , and to take a fresh approach , drawing on positive examples in Scotland and the rest of the world .
Pauline Latham OBE said in her speech :
“ I have always advocated for parties to come together to agree on fair , shared open access on the basis of mutual respect .
“ Having dealt first hand with access disagreements in my own constituency , I believe that there is a role for the government to play , to bring about fair , shared access for all .”
Kim Leadbeater , MP for Batley and Spen , who joined us on the water , for the Big Paddle Cleanup , said :
“ Paddlesport is a special way of combining physical activity and connecting to the natural environment . Two things I feel passionate about .
“ As I found out when I joined Ben [ Seal ] and the team on the canal just outside my constituency for the Big Paddle Cleanup . We had a fantastic time . It was a really special thing to do .
“ The opportunity to get outdoors and be active in our green and blue spaces are really important , but not , sadly , available to everyone in society .