Thames Estuary Recreation, Access and use of the Thames Estuary – A Workshop Meeting
When: Thursday 1st December 2011 – 2pm – 4.30pm (with afternoon tea and homemade cake)
Where: Room G07 – Pearson Building, UCL (WC1E 6BT). See Map.
There’s much more to the Thames Estuary than a famous river. It’s one of the busiest recreation/access areas in the UK, used by residents and tourists. As more and more people move out to the estuary as part of the Thames Gateway development, there will be an increasing need to improve recreational facilities as people take advantage of the open space for recreation. In recognition of this the Recreation Action Group (RAG) was established in 2001 in its current form.
What does the group try to achieve?
Amongst the objectives of the group are the following:
- to maintain and enhance opportunities for sport and recreational pursuits consistent with the long-term interests of the estuary;
- improve communication and understanding between recreational and other users of the estuary;
The need for and details of this workshop meeting:
The group has not met for some time as the Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP) operate to fullfill the needs of Estuary stakeholders and users and it is not until now that it has been the right time to organise another meeting. In the meantime TEP has supported the enjoying water project consultation led by the Environment Agency which has now been completed.
- There is a need to inspire and bring in new people that have not been part of the Recreation Action Group previously (Group needs to consider the name of the group). We have done a lot of work on the Thames Estuary Partnership database over the last year and so we are extending the invitation to this meeting to the entire database to encourage new river users to attend.
- The meeting will largely be of a workshop format (divided into small sub-groups to discuss key issues), with time to feedback to the group at the end
- One of the key, or, The Key, item to discuss will involve updating the group on the Enjoying Water Project and its key findings (Russell Robson) e.g. the need for joined up working and support (across-groups and sectors) to ensure that priority of recreational/enjoyment ‘areas’ and ‘actions’ are addressed in the Thames Estuary.
- The aim of the meeting is to find a tangible and measurable way to ensure the group can be useful in delivering more opportunities, for more people to enjoy the Thames, and the Estuary.
- We will also be circulating questionnaire/feedback sheets at the meeting so that everyone can have their opinion/thoughts reviewed.
- The meeting has a maximum capacity of 30. If you are interested in being part of this workshop then we encourage you to sign up quickly. We will also circulate the questionnaire/feedback forms to anyone interested that cannot attend the meeting. These results can then be compiled and reviewed alongside the meeting minutes.
- There is a very initial thought that TEP website (www.thamesweb.com) could have the capacity to host a Thames Estuary Recreation and Access Forum for Estuary users for information sharing, news updates, etc. Issues to be resolved include who would monitor/moderate this (where does the funding come from?) Please look at the South Downs National Park forum as an example of how this can operate.
- The meeting will also briefly cover key updates from other key projects and groups (e.g. possible Enjoying Water elements of Water Framework Directive work at Thames Estuary Partnership, Tideway Tunnel impacts, TE2100, etc).
This could be a way of showing the benefits of these groups being in the Forum and the forum as a mouthpiece for the views and concerns, which has an existing “authority” with the managers of these strategic issues.
Draft Meeting Format
The meeting will be chaired by David Cartlidge (Vice Chair of TEP).
2.00 – Introduction by Jill Goddard (Executive Director, Thames Estuary Partnership), followed by:
- Russell Robson (Strategic Specialist – Recreation, Environment Agency) background and information to the Enjoying Water Project – the results and the next steps / what we need to do
2.15 – Small group discussions (approx 6 people) / idea sharing for the following issues/points:
- 1 – how can a group like this work together for real benefit (what format would the group operate in)
- 2 – What are the individual groups’ issues and priorities in the Thames Estuary area?
- 3 – What are the opportunities for this group (geographical? policy? initiatives?) e.g. Olympic Legacy /Water Framework Directive Participitation and funding /Big Society and/or /Volunteering???
- 4 – Are there any Funding and short term project opportunities the group should discuss?
3.00 – Tea and homemade cake. Please bring any leaflets to represent your group/organisation and there will be a table where these can be circulated.
3.15 – Feedback from group discussions
3.45 – Summary, next steps and questionnaires. AOB.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS INFORMATION ON TO ANYONE YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED OR ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE. THE INVITATION IS OPEN TO ALL.
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