On 12th February 2010 the Inception Meeting of the new Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Consortium was held under the capable chairmanship of David Hackforth from MK Council. David described the Consortium as an 'exciting way of taking the project to the next level – locking up in boating terms!'
The Consortium is the new body which will take the Waterway forward into the next stages of planning and design. The member organisations are:
The three local authorities through which the route passes: Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Milton Keynes Council
The two navigation bodies involved: Environment Agency, British Waterways
The two local growth agencies: Renaissance Bedford, Milton Keynes Partnership
The two local charities which take care of green and blue spaces: Milton Keynes Parks Trust, Marston Vale Trust
… and of course, us, the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, as the community-based campaigning body which maintains the vision of the waterway.
Members agreed to invite MKSM (Milton Keynes & South Midlands) to join as an 11th member, to represent the regional perspective and draw on regional government connections.
Members will feed back their organisation’s comments on the Terms of Reference by 31 March, so that these can be officially signed on 24 May 2010. The Secretary to the Consortium is Drew Marchant of Renaissance Bedford. A new Chair will be appointed when David Hackforth retires in June 2010.
The Consortium will meet twice a year, with the main work taking place through two local Steering Groups:
Milton Keynes Waterway Park group: Milton Keynes Council, Milton Keynes Partnership, British Waterways, Milton Keynes Parks Trust, B&MK Waterway Trust.
Marston Vale & Bedford Waterway Parks:
Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedford Borough Council, Renaissance Bedford, Environment Agency, Marston Vale Trust, B&MK Waterway Trust.
As the Consortium comes into being the Trust will reinvigorate relationships with all our stakeholders and partners in the community.
