British Waterways (BW) welcomes the UK Government’s announcement today in its Budget statement of plans to move England & Wales’ 200-year old canal network into a ‘mutual’ organisation, such as a charitable trust; & while the proposals relate only to British Waterways’ network in England and Wales, positive discussions are underway with the Scottish Government about how Scotland’s waterways can benefit from any proposed changes.
The proposals will give communities greater involvement in the running of their local waterways, provide a more stable long-term footing for the network and, over time, reduce costs to the taxpayer. Importantly the Budget statement recognises the importance of BW’s property endowment in helping to fund the long-term care of the waterways and recommends that it be ‘charity locked’ for the benefit of the network.
Welcoming the announcement Tony Hales, BW chairman, said: “This is a significant moment in the history of our inland waterways, which helped put the great into Great Britain as an industrial nation. A mutualised canal network will give the communities that have grown up around the waterways since the 18th Century an increasingly important role in the way they are run in the future.
The proposal reflects a widely-held, cross-party and stakeholder view that the waterways are a national treasure which should be moved into the third sector if we are to unlock the enormous public support that there is for them. This is a tremendously innovative model for reinvigorating the waterways, it will ensure their continued revival and safeguard against a return to the decline and dereliction which they faced in the last century.”
British Waterways will now help the UK Government as it undertakes further work on the transition to mutual status ahead of a detailed consultation with waterway stakeholders.
Notes to editors
British Waterways is the public corporation which cares for 2,200 miles of historic canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs on behalf of the UK and Scottish Governments. The organisation has its origins in the post-war nationalisation of Britain’s transport networks, and was created in its present form in 1968. British Waterways’ network has undergone a remarkable transformation over recent years – thanks to increased commercial income, government grants, lottery funding and partnerships with the voluntary sector. However the network still faces an unsustainable funding shortfall of around £30m per year.
Over the last 18 months BW has been discussing with government, partners and stakeholders potential new models for narrowing the funding shortfall and increasing public engagement. In particular it has been debating the potential for moving the network out of state control and into a new third sector model – as a new ‘national trust for the waterways’.
The main benefits of this move would be to:
- Give waterway stakeholders a greater say in the future of the waterways at both a strategic and local level;
- Create new opportunities for generating charitable income and increasing volunteering;
- ‘Charity lock’ BW’s property endowment for the benefit of the waterways;
- Allow the waterways to borrow against their assets;
- Over time reduce the waterways’ dependence on Government grant.
