Case 2: The Hackney Pilot Scheme 

In 1997, British Waterways set up the London Waterways Partnership (LWP) as an agent for the government’s Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) scheme.  The objective was to channel £10 million funding into waterways projects in the London area.  It was a key requirement of the SRB that funding decisions were independent.

In practice, British Waterways put great pressure on LWP’s SRB funding decisions.  Funds awarded to BW were kept without the projects for which they were agreed being completed and without BW putting in the match funding that they had promised in their funding applications.  Without consulting LWP, BW also clawed back SRB funds awarded to non-BW projects.

In 2001, Intermodal Solutions Ltd. (ISL) applied to LWP for a £119,000 SRB grant to assist in meeting the costs of the waste by water pilot scheme in Hackney (See Hackney waste by water report under ‘Two-faced on Transport’ on this web-site and visit www.hackneywastebywater.com).  The grant was approved by LWP, subject to a requirement that match funding was obtained.  

Less than six weeks later, well before matched funding could be finalised, and with no written or verbal contact, ISL learnt that the grant had been removed, not by LWP, the independent funding body, but by British Waterways.

The strength of the original SRB funding application became apparent early in 2004, when the Department of Transport granted £236,000 from the Freight Facilities fund towards the project.  This was 50% of the estimated costs.

A second funding application for £50,000 SRB funding was made to LWP.  By this time BW were in no position to object to a project which was clearly going to go ahead despite their best efforts and the funding was secured.  BW, anxious not to lose credibility, offered £50,000 from SRB money they had ‘generously’ agreed to forego from the Stonebridge project (see Case 3).

Despite the very limited funding caused by BW’s intervention in ISL’s original SRB funding application, the Hackney pilot scheme was successful, proving that containerised  waste transport was viable on the river Lea, and at significantly lower cost than the existing road operation (visit www.hackneywastebywater.com).

Nevertheless, BW stopped the project in its tracks – see Hackney waste by water report under ‘BW - Two-faced on Transport?’ on this web-site.