urges Government to fund the canals

waterways for Today

A new IWA report aims to tell the authorities why they must support canals

Introducing ‘Waterways for Today’

So why are we restoring canals? Come to that, why are we even maintaining the canals we’ve already got?

Those probably aren’t the sort of questions that you’d expect Navvies to be asking its readers, or even to feel the need to provide answers to. And indeed, we’re not. We know that there are lots of good reasons folks get involved in supporting the waterways – anything from the heritage interest of our unique canal system or the wish to enlarge it to create more routes to enjoy by boat, to the canals’ nature conservation value or simply the enjoyment of being part of the volunteer restoration community.

But in this case it’s WRG’s parent body the Inland Waterways Association that’s answering the question – and doing it from the point of view not of the waterways restoration community, but of the Government.

Why? Well, it won’t have escaped your notice that recently the country’s been facing a fairly tricky time economically. Not only has there been the impact of the pandemic over the last two and a half years, but more recently the sudden rise in inflation has been causing some serious problems. And this has come at a particularly bad time for the Canal & River Trust, which is responsible for the majority of our navigable canals and rivers, as well as a number of the disused ones that we’re working on restoring – such as the Grantham, Montgomery and Wendover.

CRT was set up as a national charity in 2012, under a move from the previous public sector organisation British Waterways. Like BW, it received an annual grant of public funding, but unlike BW it didn’t have to negotiate with the Government for money every year, it was given a 15-year contract with a guaranteed amount each year. This started at about £40m, rose to £50m, was index-linked to inflation for several years, but then lost its index-linking for the final five years. And as I’m sure you’ve spotted, that loss of inflation-proofing kicks in right now, just as inflation’s really taking off. Oh, and there’s no guarantee whatsoever of any further public cash once the 15 years are up in 2027.

With this income representing very roughly one third of all the money that passes through CRT (with broadly similar amounts from boat licence / mooring type income and from commercial business income such as rental on its property investments), losing the whole lot in five years’ time would be likely to be pretty disastrous. Even losing the amount represented by a 10 percent inflation rate is fairly bad. And yes, I know there are many out there (and often they have a point) who say that the waterways authorities could spend what money they have a whole lot more carefully and with a better set of priorities, but you’d be stretching things to make up for the sort of loss of funding we might be facing. And that’s just to keep the existing canal system going, never mind adding any more restored canals.

But it’s not all bad news. You’ll have read elsewhere in this issue of positive decisions in favour of giving public money to canal restoration. And there have been further pots of public money arriving under the guise of post-Brexit and Covid recovery programmes. Yes, they have cringeworthy names like ‘Levelling up’ and ‘Shared prosperity’, but at the end of the day they’re pots of money, and frankly if I were a canal society fundraiser seeking cash for a road crossing I’d bid to the Boris Johnson for Pope fund if I thought it would get the bloody thing built…

Hence IWA’s report Waterways for Today. It aims to demonstrate the benefits of waterways to the Government, local authorities, planners, ‘green’ groups, and those (like the National Lottery) in charge of funds. In particular it shows that the canal system is not only worth supporting on a one-off basis when a bid is received for a restoration project, but at a higher level – that it is a sufficiently vital, unique and irreplaceable part of Britain’s infrastructure that it simply must be given adequate financial support to maintain the existing system. Not only that, but to continue bringing the 500 miles of restorable but disused waterway back into use.

It does this by going through 12 different benefits – the list opposite is reproduced

from IWA’s magazine Waterways. You’ll see plenty that might not feature on your list of why restoring the canals is a good idea. But you’re not the Government, which is being asked to commit to continued funding of some tens of millions a year – and is unlikely to be convinced by “it’s so people can continue boating, because the canals were built for boats” type arguments. It aims to show all the wider benefits of the waterways, many of which fit very closely with Government objectives – whether it’s wellbeing, green infrastructure, climate change resilience or all manner of other buzz-phrases that you’re probably already sick of. It might just make the case for funding the existing system – and the waterways under restoration too. And it’s been launched by IWA – it should be on waterways.org.uk by the time you read this. Martin Ludgate

Waterways for Today: The 12 benefits

The IWA Waterways for Today report pulls together evidence from a wide range of sources that demonstrate the value of the waterways, by identifying 12 key benefits with some compelling quotes, case studies, stats and data about each one. Economic

.Benefit 1: Contributing to the country’s economic recovery – waterway regeneration projects can level up rural and urban areas and improve the lives of millions of people . Benefit 2: Increased spend in local communities – boat-based tourism and leisure activities contribute £2.5 billion to the economy each year, with people on day trips, boat holidays and taking part in water-based activities spending even more in local pubs, cafés and shops . Benefit 3: Savings to the NHS and social care budgets – waterways are well-placed to improve the health, wellbeing and longevity of the many people living near them, through increased physical activities and social prescribing Natural and built environment

.Benefit 4: Protecting and improving the natural environment – waterways are bluegreen corridors that allow opportunities for reconnecting disparate habitats, biodiversity net gain and improvements for wildlife . Benefit 5: Waterways heritage for future generations – with their historic buildings and structures, waterways form a vast open-air heritage network, accessible to everyone and bringing history to life for current and future generations . Benefit 6: Sustainability – planning for resilience and climate change: our waterways face unprecedented challenges from climate change, but they can be part of the solution through adaptation, mitigation and enhancing the natural environment Local communities

.Benefit 7: Connecting communities – access to the paths that run alongside our waterways is free. These inclusive, flat, linear routes can be used as active travel corridors to connect communities and provide passage between urban and rural areas . Benefit 8: Education and young people – waterways offer opportunities for hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, as well as the humanities and arts, through outdoor classrooms, visits to local waterways and inter-generational learning . Benefit 9: Jobs, training and apprenticeships – waterways offer many opportunities for employment, training and apprenticeships including in the tourism, leisure, hospitality, engineering and construction sectors Improving people’s lives

.Benefit 10: Improved physical health – waterways open up multiple opportunities for outdoor activities such as walking, running, cycling, fishing, sailing, canoeing, paddleboarding and volunteering . Benefit 11: Improved mental health and wellbeing – waterways can boost wellbeing and improve mental health through physical recreation shared social experiences and connecting with nature . Benefit 12: Creating better places to live – waterside locations create a sense of place that can enhance people’s enjoyment of the area they live in. This can encourage greater diversity and inclusivity across local communities