Access agreements for canoeing on rivers in England and Wales

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Customer Contact Unit

Defra

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

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Dear Sir

Thank you for your email of 11 March about access to rivers for canoeists.

We believe that access agreements have in fact worked. Our pilot studies
showed that access agreements can:

o ensure canoeing is well managed and fits in with other activities
such as fishing and boating, and that everyone is clear about their rights
and responsibilities;
o help make canoeing safer by installing signs and structures, such
as access or exit points, along agreed access routes and setting out
conditions for their inspection, repair and maintenance;
o protect the water environment because each agreement is
tailor-made, taking into account the specific conditions of the river and
the requirements of local landowners; and
o spark regeneration of urban waterways and boost local economies.

Also widespread support for voluntary agreements has been demonstrated.
During a study, an impressive 99% of 400 landowners contacted said they
were willing to consider voluntary agreements. Many, however, are put off
from pursuing agreements because the governing bodies of canoeing in
England and Wales do not support the use of agreements.

Agreements allow site specific issues associated with competing uses,
ecological value and health and safety to be addressed. Management
measures can then be put in place creating safer rivers, managing use to
create the best for all, and raising awareness of important ecological
sites as well as restricting access to them when required.

Regarding Reverend Caffyn's paper, this is a sole opinion and does not
show that the right of public navigation on all rivers in England and
Wales has never been removed. While his work does include some
interesting examples and cases, dating back to the Magna Carta, the paper
relates to the right to navigation only, not the right to access the
river.

We confirm our commitment to using locally agreed, voluntary, access
agreements as the means of increasing river access for canoeists. This
fits very well with the Big Society agenda as it will give access where it
is needed and meet the needs of all users and interested parties.

Yours sincerely

Julie Tucker
Customer Contact Unit
Defra

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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

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Dear Sir

Thank you for your further email of 30 March requesting an internal review
on the previous reply you received about access to rivers for canoeists.

I am afraid that Defra is unable to carry out an internal review as your
previous email was not treated as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

An FOI request must ask for recorded information. It is not a request for
a view, an opinion, a justification, an explanation or anything other than
recorded information. After receiving your original email the Information
Rights Team considered that your request did not fall into the FOI
category and it was correctly passed to Defra's Customer Contact Unit to
reply to.

Your 30 March email again gives your view on the issue of access to inland
water and therefore is not classed as an FOI. In our reply we set out the
Government's current position that it is committed to the use of voluntary
agreements to provide access to inland water for canoeists, and there is
nothing further we can add to that reply.

Yours sincerely

Julie Tucker
Customer Contact Unit
Defra

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose,
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the
sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked<br>for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems.
Communications on Defra's computer systems may be monitored and/or
recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes.

Please see letter attached.

<<RFI 3968 Dougoutcanoe ack letter 19-04-2011.pdf>>

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose,
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the
sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked<br>for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems.
Communications on Defra's computer systems may be monitored and/or
recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes.

I am out of the office on until Monday 16 May 2011. If your message is
urgent and concerns planning or green infrastructure please contact Niall
Malone on 0117 372 3555. Your message has not been transferred.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

This email and any attachments is intended for the named recipient only.
If you have received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose,
store or copy any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the
sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked<br>for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems.
Communications on Defra's computer systems may be monitored and/or
recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes.

Dear Dougoutcanoe

Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 the Department has 20 working days from the date it received your request to reply.

Your request was received on 15 April but with a number of non working Bank Holidays the date for responding is 19 May.

I apologise that this was not recognised when the acknowledgement letter dated 19 April and it incorrectly gave the date for response as 15 May. You will receive a full response to your request by 19 May.

John Robbins

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[Subject only] FW: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Access agreements for canoeing on rivers in England and Wales

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