Revitalising the Waterside in a Community Context: The Experience of the Mersey Basin Campaign

Abstract

In the context of revitalising watersides, water, people, and their communities cannot be isolated each other. The waterside, the place where land and water meet, has always been vital in determining the amenity and quality of human settlements. The delivery of both economic and environmental sustainability to communities has been increasingly emphasised in waterside - related issues. However, revitalising watersides has been dominated by the concept of large-scale dockland regeneration hence ignoring community involvement. In recent years, community involvement has been promoted as a key determinant in waterside - related issues in line with the principle of sustainability. It is now clear that revitalising waterside is a task not only for central government or local authorities, but also for all local partners, including private investors and local communities. Such an idea has stimulated the concept of a partnership approach in contemporary waterside revitalisation by recognising the need for integrated and holistic perspectives. However, it is recognised that there are operational difficulties in practice, partly because of traditional fragmentation and hierarchical approaches in environmental matters. It is important and timely to review the waterside partnership approach which encourages local populations to value their local waterside environments. By assessing a new generation of waterside partnership approach, the research aims to establish the best prospects of achieving good, long-term results in revitalising watersides.