WIHCC (Water in historic city centres) tackles the good water management issues in old city centres and the role of water in the socio-economic and spatial structural intensification of such sites. 6 NWE medium size cities with city centres of historical interest – from Belgium, Ireland, the UK and Netherlands - are working together to revitalise the function of watercourses in their centres. Given the valuable potential benefits of water bodies in city centres (economic, social, cultural), the partners aim to use water as a starting point for spatial redevelopment of their respective cities. The partnership, led by Breda in the Netherlands, is based on a shared background of waterrelated planning issues linked to historic centres. Historical and socio-economic developments have meant that the functional waterways that were, have been neglected, from the functional and spatial point of view, and in certain circumstances have even disappeared. The objectives of the program are to include “historic” water as a basic development in spatial redevelopment of city centres, the use of the quality of water for supporting the multifunctional use of limited space in inner city centres for economic, cultural and residential functions; and the simultaneous realisation of integral water management. Pilot investments in the cities are part of wider investments in the water infrastructure and can be seen to trigger further investment in the near future. The use of a transnational Task Force and Flying Experts will allow the exchange of experience across investments. A film will be created showing the execution of the project; an innovative and transferable tool for the dissemination of the project’s experience. Individual findings will feed into a more strategic policy for water in historical cities in NWE.