The PaddlerUK magazine March 2015 issue 1 | Page 44

ThePaddlerUK 44 Following a review, in October 2013 the Welsh Government wrote: “The report of the National Assembly for Wales’ Sustainability Committee on their Inquiry into Access to Inland Waters in Wales (2010) advocated that in the short term effort should focus on establishing voluntary agreements, but should the Assembly secure legislative competence in this area that introducing legislation to address areas where conflict persists would also be desirable.Three years on there continues to be conflict between different user groups and voluntary access agreements do not appear to be working Wales wide. The Minister now believes that it is necessary to explore ways of seeking to bring clarity and certainty for all on where they can go and what activities they can do, whilst ensuring proper safeguards for both nature conservation and the interests of owners.The Committee’s findings are informing this current review.” By Welsh Government’s own account, the strategy of agreements funded by SPLASH has not delivered.The Green Paper promised for December 2013 has been considerably delayed.The continuation of SPLASH is unlikely, but there is no indication of Welsh Government’s future intentions regarding public access to inland water. It is difficult to draw any conclusion other than, as with CRoW, public access to the waters of Wales has been sacrificed to ease future legislation for access to land. There is a real danger that access to water will disappear completely from the Welsh Government agenda. Opponents of access to water seek to weaken the case for public rights by dividing the water and landbased aspects of countryside and/or representing the issue as polarised local conflict. Once again we see ‘access agreements’ developing between limited users, which are then used to bring pressure on the wider public to conform. Waters of Wales believe that legislation is urgently needed that will address the needs of all for responsible access whether land or water-based. We will continue to campaign for land reform legislation to benefit all, but we consider that while the needs of land-based recreational users are well represented, there is no one body which seeks to represent the needs of the wider water-using public, allowing these to be sidelined or ignored. We decided to set up an independent community campaign because we see a need for representation of the public who wish to enjoy recreation on the waters of Wales. Delight at the Welsh Government’s new-found determination to represent the public interest was, however, short-lived and only two months later, after a ‘reshuffle’ a new statement was issued: “On water, there is a need to see an increase in the number of voluntary access agreements providing for a range of recreational activities. We will therefore publish a Green Paper on improving public access to land and seeking better facilitation of voluntary access to water. We do not plan to pursue primary legislation in this assembly term.” Waters of Wales – WoW is a community campaign with the core aim of representing the water-using public of Wales with a view to achieving legislation similar to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, to enshrine public rights, with responsibilities, of access to the countryside, including water, of Wales.The WoW community includes a range of water-users including, but not exclusively, swimmers, walkers, birdwatchers, photographers and boaters. Community members may be individuals or members of groups clubs and organisations. The next Welsh General Election is in 2016 and WoW is already campaigning to get legislation to enshrine public rights with responsibilities to the Welsh countryside, including water, back on the government agenda. www.watersofwales.org.uk Follow the campaign on www.facebook.com/WatersofWales or @WatersofWales Contact [email protected] to volunteer your services.