Waterways News
Parliamentarians briefed The General Election in December 2019 resulted in new MPs in 25% of the constituencies containing a navigable waterway or one under restoration. As more than 400 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales are home to a canal, river or derelict waterway, IWA published a new briefing titled The Future of the Inland Waterways to ensure our MPs are up to date on the issues facing our inland waterways network. The document was launched at a reception in January held at the Houses of Parliament and attended by 60 people. Among the issues raised in the briefing are the ongoing need for adequate funding of the publicly owned waterways operated by Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, research into how the waterways can be more sustainable and help contribute to the Government’s goal of the UK becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the need for affordable residential moorings, the importance of protecting our waterways heritage, and how waterways restoration can act as a catalyst for a much wider regeneration of the surrounding area. MPs attending the event were encouraged to join the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways, which was due to be reconstituted after the election (see page 10).
Above: (L-r) Paul Rodgers, Simon Baynes MP and Mike Haig at the Parliamentary reception in January.
Left: Rosie Winterton MP (r) receives her copy of The Future of the Inland Waterways with Wendy Humphries, chair of IWA Lancs & Cumbria Branch.
Changes to 2020 events
IWA’s Festival of Water, due to take place in Worcester over the August bank holiday weekend, has moved to 2021.
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Our very busy programme of work parties, walks, canal camps, talks, meetings and socials has been halted in line with the Government’s guidance as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our volunteers and staff have been keen to continue with as much of the meeting programme as possible and have embraced digital meeting software, such as Zoom. Many IWA members have been able to attend meetings they had never previously been able to get to and have found sessions relatively easy to access. We have cancelled IWA Canalway Cavalcade (due to take place on 2nd-3rd May), and many boaters and stallholders booked in to attend the festival have deferred their bookings to 2021 to show their support for next year’s event. IWA’s Festival of Water has been rescheduled to take place in Worcester in August 2021, and the Trailboat Festival on the Wey & Arun Canal has also been postponed to 2021. For news about our branch activities and national events, please take a look at the event calendar on our website for the most up-to-date information.
Summer 2020 20/04/2020 16:40
