USING CONTINGENT RANKING TO ESTIMATE THE LOSS OF AMENITY VALUE FOR INLAND WATERWAYS FROM PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE STRUCTURES

A contingent ranking exercise was used to estimate the amenity loss fo r recreational users associated with pylons, overhead cables and pipel ines along canals. Over 80% of canal users were willing to pay higher utility bills to reduce the number of service structures found along c anals. Aggregated across all canal users, mean annual willingness to p ay for a 1% decrease in service structures was estimated to be nearly pound 750,000. The implications of these findings could be significant in any future negotiations between British Waterways and those compan ies responsible for siting pipelines and cables along canals.