Waterways charity consultation
Plans to create one of Britain’s biggest charities to secure the future of more than 4,000 kilometres of canals and rivers in England and Wales have been set out for consultation, with responses due by 30 June 2011.
The Government announced last year that the publicly-owned inland waterways, currently managed by British Waterways and the Environment Agency, should in future be managed by a new charity. This would secure the waterways’ long-term, sustainable financial future by enabling the new body to access new sources of income and greater public support, and give local people a greater say in their upkeep.
Now Ministers are seeking people’s views on the new charity and proposals including:
- a governance model to foster local engagement and ownership;
- the charity’s constitution; and
- improving the long-term financial sustainability of the waterways.
Environment Minister Richard Benyon said: ‘Our inland waterways are important pieces of heritage, havens for wildlife, and vital for leisure, recreation, health and well-being – enjoyed by millions of boaters, anglers, walkers and cyclists. We want to unlock the true potential of the waterways, so that they are valued and enjoyed by even more people. Creating a new charitable body for waterways will give people the chance to have a greater say in the running of their local canal or river.”
The Government intends to transfer waterways to the charity subject to a special trust, which will be set out in a Trust Declaration requiring the waterways to be protected for the public’s benefit, in perpetuity. The Government proposes that the Trust Declaration should include free access to the towpaths will be protected.
For the consultation see: www.defra.gov.uk/consult/waterways-1103/
To respond: Email: NWCresponses@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Notes
Subject to the passage of the Public Bodies Bill, the new charity is expected to be created in April 2012.
British Waterways is a public corporation responsible for approximately 3,000 km of waterways, of which about three-quarters are canals. The Environment Agency manages almost 1,000 km of waterways, most of which are navigable rivers. The two bodies are responsible for around 75 per cent of the 5000 km of waterways in England and Wales.
The Government is committed to delivering a “national trust for the waterways” that includes the British Waterways and the Environment Agency navigations. To give the charity the best possible start in the current tight fiscal climate, it wishes to take a phased approach to delivery of this vision, with British Waterways’ canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs in England and Wales transferring into the new civil society body, as soon parliamentary authority is gained and the inclusion of the EA navigations into the new waterways charity, after the next Spending Review in 2015, subject to affordability and the agreement of the NWC Trustees.
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