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The Chichester Canal is just
over 6 km long and was built in 1822. It is partially restored and, together
with its towpath, it provides a recreational and amenity link between
the cathedral city and the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty, which is also part of a Special Area for Conservation and a Special
Protection Area. The Canal is itself designated as a Site of Nature Conservation
Importance but is also an established tourist attraction and education
resource for local schools. West Sussex County Council owns the Canal
but the majority of it is managed by the Chichester Canal Society –
a community based charity whose aim is to restore the Canal.
The Canal Society has its headquarters
in the Canal Basin in Chichester where it has a small office and shop.
These provide a focal point for Society’s public activities, which
include rowing boat hire, boat trips, special events and the provision
of information.
If full restoration is to be
achieved more investment in the Canal needs to be encouraged. Such investment
is likely to be more forthcoming if it can be demonstrated that it will
bring positive benefits to the local economy and improve the well being
of local people. Other key issues are:
- A lack of information on
recreational use of the site and its carrying capacity.
- Retaining the environmental
value of the site during restoration and minimising negative impacts
upon the AONB and SAC/SPA.
- The sustainable management
of the restored Canal.
- A visitor survey was undertaken
during the summer months to generate some basic information on visitor
profiles and behaviour.
- The availability of existing
data was researched eg. Ticket sales for boat hire and angling.
- A local community workshop
was held to consult stakeholders
- Publicity material was produced
to raise local awareness.
The limited availability of
data on visitors and on the use of the Canal was a handicap to modelling
economic impacts now and in the future. This was compounded by difficulties
in collating information on the distribution of revenue spending. This
experience highlighted the importance of good basic monitoring.
The visitor survey and subsequent
analysis proved to be a substantial undertaking with heavy resource implications
and sampling targets were not met owing to bad weather on a number of
survey days. Future work will involve the use of automatic counters to
deal with quantitative data and the use of Canal Society publications
to collect qualitative data over a longer time period.
- The Canal Society will be
able to use the visitor data collected in support of future funding
bids to enhance the Canal.
- The study has highlighted
the potential for enhanced provision of facilities for visitors to maximise
economic impacts.
- Local decision-makers are
now more aware of the economic potential of the Canal reinforcing the
need for its conservation in the broadest sense.
- The need for monitoring
visitors and usage should lead to a better understanding of their impacts
on biodiversity.
- Estimates for the economic
impacts of the Canal have been established and provide the basis for
future refinement
- The raised economic profile
of the Canal should ensure it has a greater stake in local regeneration
activities.
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