The Inland Waterways Association

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  • IWA Appoints New National Chair 

    IWA Appoints New National Chair 

    Mike was elected as a trustee in September 2022, having been a supporter of the Association for nearly forty years and a canal enthusiast all his adult life. Mike, who lives in York, is a Chartered Accountant and has a background in corporate reorganisation and management. More details and photos here.

    Trustees also appointed three deputy national chairs, who will each act as co-ordinator for key aspects of the Association’s work:

    • Sue O’Hare is deputy chair for Navigation and Campaigns
    • Nick Dybeck is deputy chair for Waterway Restoration
    • Peter Marlow is deputy chair for Membership and the Environment

    The Association plans to appoint a fourth deputy chair, to cover finance, later in the year.

    As a result of the strategic review announced at the 2023 AGM, trustees have reaffirmed and updated the Association’s vision, mission and objectives with a renewed emphasis on its campaign work, and a renewed commitment to waterway restoration, with Waterway Recovery Group a key part of the Association’s operations. The Association has stabilised its finances, is working to reduce the complexity of its financial reporting and expects to show a modest surplus in its 2023 annual accounts. The strategic review included a members’ survey; the full results are shown here and also in the current edition of the Association’s members’ magazine Waterways.

    Mike Wills said “Restoration has been key to provide the social and economic public benefits of a connected national inland waterways network. Times may be tough for navigation authorities now, but it is so important that we hold the faith with restoration groups and further develop the inland waterways for future generations. The next few years will see major challenges in maintaining and improving funding for navigation authorities and the sector in general, but IWA’s campaigning spirit and leadership of the inland waterways sector is already gathering support from leading politicians and other influential decision-makers. We wish to grow and develop our role in improving the environment and will build upon the ideas in our publication Waterways for Today, an excerpt of which is included in the current Waterways magazine”.

    Trustees have agreed that IWA will not be appointing a CEO at this time. The Association will, however, be strengthening its campaigning capability by recruiting a Campaign Manager and Strategic Lead to work at the Association’s Chesham Head Office. Details are available here.

    Immediate plans for 2024 include leading the major Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign alongside over one hundred waterway organisations, a reinvigorated Canalway Cavalcade and delivering WRG’s restoration working holidays, Canal Camps, which are back at full strength. A restoration conference is being held in April, and WRG’s training and weekend work parties continue apace.

  • IWA Responds to Broads Navigation Charges Increase Challenge 

    IWA Responds to Broads Navigation Charges Increase Challenge 

    IWA has submitted a representation to the Secretary of State regarding the toll increases imposed on boaters on Broads Authority navigations. In December 2023, the Broads Hire Boat Federation launched a challenge, under the Harbours Act, against the Broads Authority’s decision to increase tolls by 13% in 2023. As part of this process interested parties were invited to submit representations to the Department of Transport to assist with the decision.  

    The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads have National Park status, but navigation is integral to their character, bringing economic, environmental, and societal benefits to the region. Consequently, maintaining the safety of navigators and funding adequate maintenance is crucial. Unlike other major inland navigation authorities, the Broads Authority does not receive government funding for navigation maintenance and relies solely on toll revenue. 

    In the letter to the Secretary of State IWA expressed concern over the toll increases but acknowledged the challenges faced due to inflation and climate change. Climate change, in particular, has significantly impacted the Broads, necessitating increased resources for maintenance and safety provisions. 

    However boatyards and private boat owners are finding these toll rises difficult. The toll hikes have led to a decline in boat movement, posing a threat to the essential character of the Broads and potentially degrading its National Park status. 

    IWA urged the government to recognise the necessity of financial support to ensure the continued maintenance of navigation and preservation of the Broads’ character. Appropriate provision would enable tolls to be kept affordable and boats to continue as a defining feature of the Broads. 

  • IWA Concern at threatened closure of access to the Neath Canal

    IWA Concern at threatened closure of access to the Neath Canal

    IWA has expressed its deep concerns at plans announced by the local authority, in a recent consultation, to cease funding of towpath access to the Neath Canal, which would likely lead to the Canal being entirely closed off to public access. In a letter to the leader of the Council, chair of IWA’s Navigation Committee, Sue O’Hare, urged Neath Port Talbot Council to recognise the value of public access to whole length of the Neath Canal and to work with the private owner to ensure the continued benefits that use of this valuable asset bring to the community. Much of the Neath Canal is owned by property developers St Modwen, to which the Council pays an annual fee to maintain public access.

    IWA’s letter draws attention to the Association’s recent report Waterways for Today which demonstrates the benefits of inland waterways and highlights twelve specific themes, and the recent article “Waterways at Risk” in the Local Government Association’s First Magazine, written by Sir Robert Atkins, IWA trustee, former waterways minister and MEP. The Council has suggested that it could save £135,000 by terminating access agreements.

    The benefits and importance of the towpath as a local amenity are recognised in the Council’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan. There have also been, so far unsuccessful, attempts, dating back since 1990, to get the towpaths of both the Neath and Tennant canals recognised as public rights of way.

    The 13.5-mile (21.7 km) Neath Canal stretches from Pontneddfechan to Neath, has 19 locks and was first completed in 1795, with extensions added from Neath to Giant’s Grave a year later, and further private extensions including the Jersey Canal, reaching Briton Ferry by 1842. Since construction the waterway has been owned by the Neath Canal Company, but that company is currently owned by St Modwen the property developers, who acquired it from petrochemical giant BP as part of a major industrial land redevelopment.  BP had originally acquired the canal company for industrial water supply purposes. Use of the Canal for navigation purposes ceased in the 1930s, but restoration was proposed in 1974 with the formation of Neath and Tennant Canals Preservation Society (now Neath and Tennant Canals Trust), and more recently Ty Banc Canal Group has formed to work on the northern part of the canal. From 1974 to 1990 the canal benefited from job creation schemes run by the Manpower Services Commission and Youth Training Scheme to work on the northern section from Resolven to Ysgwrfa.  By 1990 there was 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of navigable canal, including 7 restored locks and a slipway at Resolven Basin. It received a 1998 Europa Nostra award for the quality of the work, and a Civic Trust Award in 1992. The £4 million project was jointly funded by the Welsh Office and the Prince of Wales Trust. At one time, there were two trip boats on the canal, but both have ceased operating.

    [The photo shows a trail boat on the Neath Canal at an IWA National Trailboat Festival]

  • Leisure boaters move closer to using subsidised biofuel in battle to decarbonise waterways

    Leisure boaters move closer to using subsidised biofuel in battle to decarbonise waterways

    A subsidised biofuel, which will help decarbonise the waterways, has been given the green light for more widespread use on leisure boats by the UK Government. DfT provided written clarification over the Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFC’s)subsidy after the HVO Joint Working Party – representing IWA, RYA and the Cruising Association – met with officials from the DfT in Westminster in November 2023.

    Leisure boaters looking to reduce their carbon footprint while cruising will be able to take greater advantage of a government managed subsidy on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), after the Department for Transport (DfT) agreed that the benefit can apply to fuel used for onboard domestic purposes, as well as for the propulsion of vessels.

    The move will narrow the price gap between HVO and mineral diesel. It will also mean that it will be easier for suppliers to market HVO to the leisure boating sector in the future as they will not have to establish what proportions of the fuel will be used for domestic and propulsion purposes on the vessel, a requirement complicated by the fact that most leisure vessels have only one fuel tank.

    HVO is a biodiesel alternative to ‘FAME’- a first generation biodiesel currently being added to fuel supplied to the leisure boating industry and to road diesel.  The addition of 7% ‘FAME’ biodiesel to mineral diesel (B7) is resulting in fuel unsuited to a marine environment, causing regular boat engine failures due to blockages in vital fuel injection components.

    Bowman Bradley, chair of the Joint Working Party and IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group, said: “We are delighted that the DfT appear to have recognised the problems that the leisure boating sector faces and taken this important first step towards resolving them.”

    However, the group warned that even with the new measures, there will still be a significant price gap between HVO and mineral diesel. The Joint Working Party will continue to work with Government to seek to make HVO affordable to the leisure boater to allow the sector, and the existing fleet in particular, to transition away from fossil fuels.

    This will also then resolve the safety issues associated with using B7 diesel in a marine environment, particularly in craft that cruise challenging waters.


    Mr Bradley added: “We look forward to continuing the dialogue with the DfT, and other relevant government departments, to find a complete solution. In this way we can significantly transition the leisure boating sector away from fossil fuels and eliminate the engine failures associated with B7 diesel. If you are in the middle of the Trent and Mersey Canal it is just an expensive inconvenience but on the tidal Trent, in a fast-flowing estuary or two miles off the coast in a force 8 it becomes a problem.”

  • Join the Festival of Water Committee

    Join the Festival of Water Committee

    After many years of running successful Festival of Water events, several members of the committee are moving on and we now urgently seek volunteers to take on the roles listed below.

    If you believe you have the skills and experience to take on any of the positions listed, we need you!

    Event Chair – schedule event planning, develop project plan to ensure key tasks can be delivered on time, have oversight to ensure co-ordination of functions to deliver the event. Liaise with Finance and function managers before and during the FoW to ensure the event delivers on or better than budget.

    Publicity Manager – working with IWA Head Office staff to manage publicity including posters, leaflets, local advertising near the site, local radio and social media. Produce the event brochure. Liaise with the local council to promote the event in council newsletters and potential banner and poster sites.

    Attractions and Entertainments Manager – finding and booking entertainers for the entertainments marquee and booking attractions including children’s rides (within the restrictions of IWA Insurance). Liaise with the site manager regarding space needed on the event site for rides, arena, classic cars etc.

    Catering Manager – find and book a suitable variety of caterers and manage caterers on site including positioning according to the site plan when they arrive on site. Liaise with publicity to promote the event.

    Commercial Manager – find and book traders and exhibitors including charities and manage the traders on site including positioning stalls according to the site plan when they arrive on site. Advertise the event on appropriate websites for traders. Liaise with publicity to promote the event.

    Finance Manager – manage the Festival finance including budgets and reports as necessary. Work closely with event chair to ensure the event in on or better than budget. Liaise with IWA Head Office Finance to ensure cost and income are correctly allocated and understood.

    Volunteer Manager – contact any boaters and campers attending to find volunteers over the event for various tasks. Help in the information tent over the run up to, and over the event weekend, to allow the volunteers to fill the rotas for the tasks that need covering.

    To find out more please send an email to dave.chapman@waterways.org.uk stating which post or posts interest you, and provide a brief outline of the experience and skills you would bring to the task.

  • Parliamentarians hear about Achieving Net Zero on UK Leisure Craft

    Parliamentarians hear about Achieving Net Zero on UK Leisure Craft

    The MPs and peers of the All Party Parliamentary Group met in Westminster on 28th November, and were joined by representatives from navigation authorities, waterway organisations and government officials. Two speakers gave presentations describing ways how inland waterways could reduce emissions and contribute to the UK’s net zero carbon target and the barriers to doing so.

    Bowman Bradley, Chair of the joint IWA, RYA and Cruising Association Working Group gave an overview of the issue explaining how while technology for electric boats is progressing, the key to improve sustainability is the existing fleet. It is large, will be with us for a long time (leisure boats have very long lifetime) and most are unlikely to be converted to electric drive. They are mostly driven by, mainly small, diesel engines. They will need diesel fuel for decades into the future. First generation ‘FAME’ biodiesel gives significant problems in a marine environment, even at the 7% level. It is even more water absorbent than mineral diesel and deteriorates with storage, particularly in a damp environment.

    He explained how IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group have done extensive trials with a second generation biodiesel, HVO or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil. This has been shown to be fully compatible with modern and traditional boat engines and other diesel burning appliances found on leisure craft. It can be used at 100% or mixed in any proportion with mineral diesel. It can use all of the existing refuelling infrastructure, on shore and on board. It has none of the problems associated with FAME biodiesel. HVO offers a net CO2 reduction of up to 90% and significant reductions in noxious tail pipe emissions when compared with mineral diesel.

    Simon Lawford, from Crown Oil gave a presentation on the factors preventing HVO from being widely available. Like most biofuels, HVO is inherently more expensive than mineral diesel and thus benefits from a government managed subsidy (RTFC’s), but this only applies to fuel used for boat propulsion, not that used for ‘domestic’ purposes. Most leisure boats have only one fuel tank and there are different tax and duties applied to mineral diesel when they refuel (the 60/40 split) and this also applies to HVO. Several different governments departments own different parts of this problem. The overall result is that HVO is expensive and complex for the suppliers to market to leisure boaters. Hence wholesalers and retailers are reluctant to supply it and boaters cannot, or will not, buy it.

    IWA, the Royal Yachting Association and the Cruising Association have recently formed a joint working group to bring this problem to the attention of government. After the presentations to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways they met with the Department for Transport to explain the issue, but more needs to be done.

    We encourage all boaters to write to their MP’s drawing their attention to this problem and asking them to lobby government to adopt policies that will make HVO affordable and available to leisure boaters, thus allowing an immediate and very significant reduction in the carbon footprint of UK leisure craft.

  • IWA Announces 2024 National Trailboat Festival

    IWA Announces 2024 National Trailboat Festival

    The event is the largest annual gathering of trailable boats in the UK and has been held annually since the first gathering in 1989 on the Lancaster Canal, although, owing to the pandemic, there has been a gap of five years since the previous event, held in 2019, also on the Lancaster Canal.  The event has previously been held on the Ashby Canal in 2000, 2009 and 2017.

    The 2024 Festival will take place at the historic Moira Furnace, on the restored length of the Ashby Canal in northwest Leicestershire, DE12 6AT.  As well as a large gathering of trailable boats on this northernmost and isolated section of the Ashby Canal there will be a wide range of activities and attractions.  A Beatles tribute band will include songs from the beginning of the Beatles fame to the end, with costume changes over their twice daily performances. There will be a trad jazz band, Morris dancing will liven things up; with children’s conjuring fun and entertainment, train rides, a variety of stalls and demonstrations, classic cars, historic engines, boats, bar and refreshments. The organisers hope to have a visit from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and Mother Duck will be there with her ducklings for visitors to enter a duck in the duck race along the Ashby Canal!  The organisers have also invited the Military Wives Choirs from Nottingham and Cottesmore. The Military Wives Choirs became famous under the tutelage of Gareth Malone, on BBC television, and have now been formed groups over many locations.  An illuminated boat parade is due to take place on the Saturday evening.  All this will revolve around the banks of the Ashby Canal at the Grade 2 listed Moira Furnace at the heart of the National Forest.

    The festival will raise money for the Ashby Canal Restoration Project.  The long-term aim is to restore the Ashby Canal from its current terminus at Snarestone to Moira. This major project will ultimately reconnect Measham, Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe and Moira to the national waterways network, and provide a green gateway to the Heart of the National Forest. The Ashby Canal Trust supports the restoration of the Ashby Canal.  Proceeds from the festival will assist the further restoration of the canal and contribute to the upkeep of the canal around the site of the Moira Canal Festival, for people to enjoy throughout the year.

    IWA currently has a Silver Propeller Challenge location on the Ashby Canal at the end of the connected length in order to encourage visiting boaters to use as much of the canal as possible.  We are looking forward to moving it to Moira once the isolated length is restored and reconnected.

    Boat entry details from fionapursglove@outlook.com; Trade booking enquiries to moiracanal@mail.com; classic vehicle entry bookings to alan.cuff1@ntlworld.com; general enquiries to ashby.canal@outlook.com.

    IWA is currently inviting applications from waterways groups to host the 2025 and 2026 festivals – enquiries to derek.smith@waterways.org.uk.

  • IWA Responds to HS2 Cancellation

    IWA Responds to HS2 Cancellation

    Cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a, 2b and HS2 East will avoid major noise impacts on waterway users at numerous locations and remove the blight on several canal restoration projects.

    Phase 2a (Fradley to Crewe) was authorised in 2021 and early environmental work has been undertaken.  Its cancellation and removal of its safeguarding “in weeks” will remove the threat of major disruption and noise to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great Haywood Marina with its semi-residential boaters.

    Phase 2b West (Crewe-Manchester) is currently before Parliament.  Its cancellation and removal of its safeguarding “by summer next year” will remove the threats of disruption and noise at the Middlewich Branch Canal crossings and to the on-line moorings at Park Farm Stanthorne, and also at the three proposed Trent & Mersey Canal viaduct crossings and to residential boats at Oakwood Marina, along with the threat of possible subsidence of the canal around Billinge Flash.

    It is not yet clear if the current Crewe–Manchester Bill and its Select Committee hearings will be dropped or if the Manchester section, which doubles up as part of the ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ route, may be retained pending a decision on a modified Network North scheme.  

    Either way, IWA is unlikely now to be called to put our case for better noise protection for canals to the Select Committee, or to receive the promised response to our questions about ground stability in Cheshire.

    The HS2 East (Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway) plans had not been updated since abandonment of the East Midlands to Leeds part of Phase 2b East in the 2021 Integrated Rail Plan.  Its cancellation and removal of the safeguarding on Phase 2b “by summer next year” (which presumably includes HS2 East) will enable the Ashby Canal restoration at Measham to proceed as part of the stalled Measham Waterside housing development.  It also removes a crossing of the Coventry Canal at Polesworth.

    Confirmation that the East Midlands to Leeds route has been abandoned, and removal of the safeguarding on that section, simplifies the Chesterfield Canal restoration at Staveley, which will no longer need a deepened lock, or an extra lock, on the section to be restored at Staveley under the Towns Fund.  This also finally confirms avoidance of crossings of the River Soar at Kegworth, Cranfleet Cut on the River Trent, the Erewash Canal, Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, and Aire & Calder Navigation.

    Phase 1, which is under active construction, will be completed, although with a smaller station at Euston.  It will include the currently partly delayed section beyond Coleshill to Fradley and the Handsacre Link where it will join the West Coast Mainline.  So the works affecting the Lichfield Canal restoration have not changed, with construction of the replacement Cappers Lane canal bridge and the canal diversion under Cappers Lane Viaduct expected to continue, although the timescale is uncertain.  But the Trent & Mersey Canal bridge at Fradley and the grade separated junction at Streethay are clearly no longer needed.

    IWA has sought to engage constructively with HS2 for more than a decade and has achieved various improvements to their plans, most notably saving the Trent & Mersey Canal at Fradley Wood End from devastation by three unnecessary viaduct crossings. 

    However, HS2 has never properly recognised the major noise impacts on canal users, and particularly on the residential use of boats, and the noise mitigation measures at many of the canal interfaces were therefore inadequate.  Whilst construction and operational noise will still affect the Grand Union, Oxford and BCN canals many others will now be spared, and the two canal restoration projects can now proceed unhindered by uncertainty.

  • IWA National Awards 2023

    IWA National Awards 2023

    At its AGM on Saturday 23rd September, IWA presented a number of awards to individuals and groups, celebrating their contributions to the Association and to the waterways. The Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson Salt prize, recognising an outstanding contribution to waterways freight, was awarded this year for the first time in a decade.

    RICHARD BIRD MEDALS

    Richard Bird Medals are awarded to members of the Association whose efforts and support are considered to have brought significant benefit to the Association over a sustained period.

    There were two recipients this year: Alan Smith and Dave Pearson.

    Alan was nominated for his quiet background support for the vast amount of IWA work carried out by Christine Smith. Whilst that has been very important, it understates Alan’s contribution to IWA and the inland waterways. At Cavalcade he can always be found working on an information stand or some other part of the background work. He is also very knowledgeable about the inland waterways and is a regular contributor to the waterways press, often writing to correct errors that have appeared in print.

    Dave Pearson has served on the Birmingham Black Country & Worcestershire Branch for over 10 years, with 4 years as chairman. He has supported many local and national events, enthusiastically acting as harbourmaster, a challenging job, on many occasions. He has been instrumental in developing and maintaining good relations between IWA and local waterways organisations such as the BCN Society and Coombeswood Canal Trust.

    Dave largely initiated the Bradley Canal Restoration, acting as chairman during its recent phase and driving it forward. He also actively supports the Lapal Canal Restoration. He has a vast knowledge of waterways and other forms of transport which has been very beneficial to the branch and to IWA in general.

    The Christopher Power Prize

    The Christopher Power Prize is awarded to a person, society or trust who has made the most significant contribution to the restoration of an inland waterway.

    There is a cash prize associated with this award, which is given to a waterway restoration group associated with the winner, where the winner is a named individual. The aims and objectives of the group must be consistent with IWA’s aims and objectives. The trophy, a carved wooden otter, was presented to the Association by Volvo Penta.

    This prize was awarded to John Dodwell who has nominated the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust to receive the cash prize.

    Both the Trust and John are very deserving of this award.

    John is Chair of the Montgomery Canal Partnership which brings together various groups interested in completing the restoration of the Canal, including the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust.

    The Trust’s record for accessing substantial new sources of funding is outstanding, largely thanks to John’s in-depth knowledge of funders coupled with his skill in preparing bids. Funding the restoration of a canal that runs through 2 different countries – each with its own unique legislation and grant regimes – is a unique challenge.

    The combination of contractors working alongside volunteers to ensure speedy delivery of new build and sympathetic restoration has proved highly effective.

    The pace of progress over the past 5 years gives hope that we will see the full restoration of the Montgomery Canal achieved in the coming 5 years. As a result of his skilled leadership, the reputation of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust is at an all-time high.

    Other major restoration groups are quick to praise John’s willingness to share his deep knowledge of SSSI’s and offer support in a discreet way. John is a highly effective ambassador for the wider inland waterways restoration movement. 

    The Branch Achievement Award

    The Branch Achievement Award goes to the IWA branch which, in the opinion of a panel consisting of the National Chairman, Deputy National Chairmen and Chief Executive, has made the greatest progress and achievement in promoting the Association’s aims and objectives during the past year. 

    The award this year goes to the Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire Branch. Not only have they carried out all their regular activities in terms of work parties and monitoring planning activities, but has also through its members been highly active in promoting the Fund Britain’s Waterways aspects of IWA’s Protect Our Waterways campaign, ensuring the success of the Birmingham Campaign Cruise in August, and also in the gaining of Heritage Inland Port status for Stourport.

    The Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson Salt

    The Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson Salt prize is awarded this year for the first time since 2013. It is awarded to the person or organisation who, in the opinion of Trustees, upon a recommendation from IWA’s Inland Waterways Freight Group, has made an outstanding contribution to the furtherance of commercial waterways transport in the United Kingdom. The trophy is a hall-marked solid silver salt, presented by Vivian Bulkeley-Johnson, a former IWA Treasurer from the 1950s and member of the Rothschild banking family, who financed the Willow Wren carrying operation.

    This year it goes to John Spencer who runs GPS Marine, a successful family firm engaged in a wide range of inland waterways activities (based on the Thames and Medway).

    John has been running a lobbying campaign to promote inland waterways freight across the board, certainly not limiting himself to GPS’s sphere of operation. He is largely responsible for the fact that pretty well all the commercial operators on the Thames are now running on HVO with the very substantial savings in emissions and particulates this represents.

    Over the past couple of years, he has been extremely helpful in guiding the IWA Sustainable Boating Group with its trial work with HVO for use in inland waterways craft, and has won a wide range of freight, logistics and sustainability awards. 

    Subsequent to his nomination for the Salt, John has taken over as Chair of the Inland Waterways Freight Group and will be leading an active campaign to increase the use of the waterways for freight.

    The Cyril Styring Trophy

    The Cyril Styring trophy is the Association’s premier award and goes to an IWA member who has, in the opinion of Trustees, made an outstanding contribution in furthering the Association’s campaign. 

    This year it is awarded to Christine Smith.

    Christine has worked in many roles in IWA and to all of them she has brought boundless quantities of enthusiasm and efficiency.

    Christine was not only Deputy Chairman, but also Publicity Manager and Liaison Officer for Canalway Cavalcade for a number of years. Her devotion to her various roles within the Cavalcade team has meant that she has had more or less a full-time job for months at a time, but she has still found time to encourage others and has shown determination and resilience in the face of obstacles placed by statutory bodies. Christine has ensured the success of Canalway Cavalcade and has been largely responsible for it becoming such a major event.

    In addition to Cavalcade, Christine was also Publicity Manager for the Festival of Water and, before moving out of London, served on the South London branch committee, helping to ensure the high quality of social events they run.

    Christine has made an outstanding contribution to IWA and is a thoroughly deserved winner of IWA’s most prestigious award.

  • IWA Concern Regarding CRT Licence Fee Rises

    IWA Concern Regarding CRT Licence Fee Rises

    IWA is disappointed that the recent announcement by Canal & River Trust (CRT) of its intention to increase boat licence fees disproportionately for different user groups does not take on board the concerns that IWA and many other organisations and individuals raised.

    Firstly, we are opposed to the introduction of surcharges that appear to be an attempt to change the principle that there is only one type of licence, the Pleasure Boat Licence. 

    We are also still concerned about the divisive effect of the consultation and ensuing discussion and announcement on the boating community, particularly at a time when CRT and the waterways need everyone’s support.

    Boaters use the waterways in a wide range of different ways, either with or without a home mooring. It is not necessarily the case that continuous cruisers use the system and its facilities more than boaters with a home mooring.

    IWA does support the proposal to charge by area, as this would bring CRT in line with the Environment Agency’s charging system and make Gold Licence administration more straightforward.

    Regarding overall price rises, bearing in mind that CRT is dependent for a good part of its income on a Government grant that is not inflation linked, we appreciate that the Trust has no option but to try to raise more from other sources to compensate. However, increasing the licence fee beyond inflation risks pricing boaters off the system, or boaters simply being unable to pay, which could result in a net loss.

    We would like to see CRT achieving a considerable increase in the non-boating income from all those who currently enjoy the waterways and whose benefits will suffer if they deteriorate.

    Alongside this, we (and the Fund Britain’s Waterways action group) will continue to campaign for local and national government to recognise the many benefits including health and wellbeing that the inland waterways provide to a large part of the population and to fund them accordingly.

  • #FBWOnTour With Atlas and Malus

    #FBWOnTour With Atlas and Malus

    We have been following the progress of the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society’s working boats Atlas and Malus as they take Fund Britain’s Waterways on tour. Read on to learn more about their remarkable voyage!

    Birmingham Campaign Cruise

    The boats started at the Fund Britain’s Waterways Campaign Cruise which took place outside the Mailbox in Birmingham on 13th August.

    It was here that Atlas and Malus joined approximately 50 other boats to stage a demonstration in support of the FBW campaign which calls upon national and local government to act now and protect the public benefit and natural capital of our waterways. The event was organised by volunteers working on behalf of Fund Britain’s Waterways, a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways.

    Visit the Fund Britain’s Waterways website to learn more about the campaign.

    brownhills canal festival

    The next stop for Atlas and Malus was the Brownhills Canal Festival which took place from 19th – 20th August. The event, which is organised by the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, took place on the Wyrley & Essington Canal at Brownhills in the Black Country. For Atlas and Malus, the next step of the journey involved cruising on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) from Birmingham city centre to Brownhills. They stopped at Titford Pumphouse and also moored overnight in Wolverhampton on their way to Brownhills Canal Festival.

    IWA Festival of water

    Following Brownhills, Atlas and Malus continued onwards to the IWA Festival of Water 2023 which was held in Pelsall over the August Bank Holiday weekend. While moored at the event on the Wyrley & Essington Canal, Atlas and Malus received a great deal of interest from festivalgoers who stopped by to admire these impressive boats and to learn more about the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign. They also welcomed members of the public aboard to have a look inside the traditional working boats.

    Black Country Boating Festival

    The end of August didn’t mean the end of the voyage for these two working boats however, as they continued the tour by attending the Black Country Boating Festival which took place in early September. It is an annual event which takes place at the Bumble Hole Nature Reserve on the Dudley No2 Canal. Throughout the duration of their voyage, Atlas and Malus sported the distinctive FBW boat banners and helped to raise awareness about the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign – not only at the events but also while en-route to each location! We thank the BCN Society for their support of the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign and for allowing Atlas and Malus to take #FBWonTour. Thank you also to the crew members that took part including: Steve King (Skipper), Mike Rolfe, Steve Melia and John Holian on Atlas and Mike Paine, Ann Wild and Phillip Wild on Malus.

  • Restoration Successes on the Montgomery Canal

    Restoration Successes on the Montgomery Canal

    Can you help volunteers extend the restoration towards the Welsh border?

    Friday, June 2nd saw the long-awaited official re-opening of the Montgomery Canal navigation from Gronwen Bridge, near Maesbury Marsh, to the new basin at Crickheath Wharf. Some 60 official guests and a similar number of interested members of the public watched as North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan and National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Julian Glover cut the ceremonial ribbon across the canal from the bow of the steam launch Ictus.

    At a reception on the wharf, Helen Morgan MP and Shropshire Council leader Lezley Picton praised the work of the volunteers who had spent eight years on this length of the restoration and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

    Meanwhile, an outstanding fundraising effort has achieved the £1 million needed to rebuild Schoolhouse Bridge, the last remaining road bridge obstacle confronting the restoration between Crickheath and the Welsh border at Llanymynech. Contractors Beaver Bridges have excavated the infilled canal and begun work to reinstate an arched road bridge over the navigation. Completion is expected by Autumn 2023.

    Volunteers from the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) have already started the next stage of the restoration from Crickheath Basin towards Schoolhouse Bridge, and the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust and its partners in the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal group have launched a fresh appeal for funds to enable this effort to continue.

    IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch is a member of the Restore the Montgomery Canal! group, along with SUCS and the Friends of the Montgomery Canal.

    The fundraising push aims to raise £250,000 to fund the next stage towards Schoolhouse Bridge and beyond, and is again being endorsed by popular actors and TV personalities Timothy West and Prunella Scales. The appeal has already raised £50,000 towards its target and is now asking for support from well-wishers among the public.

    The appeal leaflet will be included with IWA member communications as well as titles in the waterways press. Well-wishers can also donate online at www.localgiving.org/charity/restorethemontgomerycanal

  • Recent News and Updates From the Eastern Front

    Recent News and Updates From the Eastern Front

    Two influential boating figures from the Anglian Region have retired. Irven Forbes, Waterways Manager for the Environment Agency, and David Thomas Chief Engineer and CEO of the Middle Level Commissioners have both ‘hung up their boots’. They are replaced by Katherine Briscombe at the Agency and Paul Burrows at the MLC. Both Irven and David were friends to boating in the Anglian Region and we wish them happy retirements, just as we wish their successors, Katherine and Paul, the very best. Paul has come from the Environment Agency to the Middle Level. We strongly hope that these changes herald even closer working ties between the two Navigation Authorities. Initial indications are promising!

    Siltation of the tidal Great Ouse between Denver crossing and Salter’s Lode is becoming an increasing problem, and has demanded an increasing frequency of dredging. Works on the tidal side of Denver Sluice coincided with the exit to Salter’s Lode Lock (downstream) becoming blocked and a hire boat grounding. This was quickly remedied with minimal interruption to boating. We are confident that ‘lessons have been learned’ and the risk of further blocking of Salter’s Lode minimised.

    The crossing from Denver to Salter’s Lode is tidal. IWA has recently written a guide to this crossing, with helpful ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ which can be viewed and downloaded at https://waterways.new1.fixed-staging.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IWA-Guide-to-the-Denver-Salters-Lode-Crossing.pdf

    Prior to the clearing of Well Creek in the 1970s, The Old Bedford River was the only navigable link between the Middle Level and the River Great Ouse. This link was sadly lost when Welches Dam Lock was closed in 2006. A small, but determined, band of IWA members like to occasionally make passage up the Old Bedford River. This involves backing into the entrance and cutting through the silt with your propellor! Passage was last achieved in 2018 to coincide with the IWA Festival of Water in St Neots. On 2nd May Chris Howes & Christine Colbert (on Lily May) and Paula & Gerald Syred (on Platinum Fox) tried to again make passage. The siltation was 5ft up the tidal doors, and despite valiant efforts by contractors, it was impossible to get onto the Old Bedford River in the available tidal window. Thanks are due to everyone assisting, particularly Paul Separovic of the E.A. and Tom Lanarch (formerly Cams Conservators) of River and Rural Ltd.

    Let’s hope the next attempt will be more successful !

    A preferred site for the new Fenland Reservoir has recently been announced. This is on the Middle Level, North West of the junction of the Forty Foot Drain and the Sixteen Foot Drain. We are lobbying hard for Open Water Transfer (rather than sealed pipe). This offers the real chance of restoring boating to Welches Dam and the Horseway Channel, as well as providing a welcome and wide range of healthy outdoor leisure opportunities.

    The Middle Level Commissioners invested a lot of time and effort in putting the Middle Level Bill through Parliament. This allowed them to charge boats wishing to use their waters a licence fee. Funds generated by the licence are ring fenced to be spent on the provision of navigation facilities on The Level. However because of unfortunate administration by Canal & River Trust, funds from the Gold Licence that should be going to improve facilities on the Middle Level are getting ‘lost’ and instead probably going to the Environment Agency. We are lobbying Canal & River Trust hard to remedy this clear injustice.

    The small city of Ely with its shops, restaurants and glorious cathedral, has long been a popular stopping point on the river Great Ouse. The District Council enforce mooring time restrictions which in summer months ensure everyone gets a fair opportunity to moor for up to 48 hours. However in winter these same restrictions can appear over zealous. Ely District Council issues fixed penalty notices to over-stayers. We pointed out that when, this winter, the river was frozen, forcing boats to move was unreasonable and dangerous. The Council has now agreed to relax mooring restrictions when they have a ‘severe weather protocol’ in place.

    Ben Di-Giulio, one of the two Denver Lock Keepers left in August, for another job within the EA. Ben will be greatly missed as a friendly face and knowledgable source of information. We all look forward to seeing the first picture of the new ‘management’ Ben, spruced up in shirt and tie, and wish him and his family the very best!

  • IWA Festival Of Water delights crowds during August Bank Holiday weekend

    IWA Festival Of Water delights crowds during August Bank Holiday weekend

    IWA returned to Pelsall this year for the first time since 2016. We welcomed visitors to our annual Festival of Water which was held at Pelsall North Common over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The event attracted many hundreds of visitors throughout the weekend and was especially popular amongst families. Children enjoyed a range of activities – from having a go at driving a digger to testing their skills in the Arena with Giant Jenga, Connect 4, football and tug of war! Visitors didn’t go hungry, with an incredible choice of food and refreshments available including stone-baked pizzas, gourmet burgers, Caribbean street food and ice cream. Plenty of traders attended the festival, with numerous stalls selling everything from toys and books to marine engine parts, pet portraits, jams, chutneys, cookies and even bonsai trees. There were a number of charity stalls too with many promoting specific restoration projects in the local area and beyond including the Birmingham Canal Navigation Society (BCNS), Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (LHCRT), and the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.

    The bar served a fantastic choice of beverages including ciders and ales. Trade was steady throughout the weekend and was spurred on by a good turnout for the Open Mic Variety Show and a superb programme of entertainment. There was never a dull moment in the Entertainments Marquee where local artistes and festival favourites performed including Miles & Margaret, The Buskateers, and Reflections.

    Over 70 boats – from traditional working boats to modern narrowboats – all adorned with bunting, banners and flags – were moored on the Wyrley and Essington Canal in Pelsall. The variety and sheer volume of boats attracted a great deal of interest while the static Illuminated Boat Display proved very popular as festivalgoers enjoyed strolling along the towpath on Sunday evening to admire the vibrant spectacle.

    Councillor Chris Towe, Mayor of Walsall, opened the festival on Saturday, saying how delighted he was to open the event and thanked the Inland Waterways Association for returning to Pelsall, remarking “what better a location than the Wyrley and Essington Canal”. The Mayor went on to explain how the canal is a valuable asset to the local community, having been there for 230 years.

    Wendy Morton, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, also attended the Opening Ceremony. She welcomed everybody to Pelsall and hoped that they would have a great time as visitors did back when the event took place in 2016. She continued, “I know how important our canals are to us, not just in Pelsall and in Walsall but right across the Black Country and the West Midlands. Once a key part of our industrial heritage, they are now part of our local communities. We see them playing a part in the restoration of many of our local towns as well.”

    Later on in the weekend, Jane Elwell, Chair of the organising committee, said: “We have between 70 and 80 boats here, all of whom have booked to come to the festival, including eight boat traders. There are also about 60 camping pitches.

    “It has been a successful event. I think there would have been bigger crowds if the weather had stayed fine but that’s always the problem.”

    At the Awards Ceremony on Monday afternoon four awards were presented:

    • Best picture coloured by a child aged 4 – 8 years was awarded to Alice
    • Best picture coloured by a child aged 9-13 years was awarded to Issy Patrick
    • The Ray Dunford Trophy for the best illuminated/decorated boat was awarded to Terry Smith for his narrowboat Moranwyl Phyllis, with commendations going to Bob and Mary Metcalf of Chedoona
    • The Offley and Slack Propellor Trophy, for the highest number of boats attending the festival, was awarded to the Boaters’ Christian Fellowship, with 14 boats

    Thank you to everyone who attended Festival of Water 2023.

    We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and will look forward to seeing you again next year!

  • New Guide to Electric Boats Published

    New Guide to Electric Boats Published

    IWA has recently published a new guide: ‘An Introduction to Electric-Drive Narrowboats’. 

    IWA believes that it is vital for the inland waterways community to make their contribution to a more sustainable environment and the IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group has been looking at how inland waterways leisure boating can become more sustainable since 2019. They published their Vision Paper in 2020, covering propulsion, the existing fleet and domestic energy on boats. 

    IWA is delighted to see that an increasing number of new boats are now being built with some form of electric drive and most boatbuilders are now offering electric drive options. The technologies associated with this form of propulsion are not only unfamiliar to most boaters but are rapidly changing as electric road vehicle technologies develop. 

    This new guide is not intended to be a ‘design and build’ manual for electric narrowboats but hopefully will help boaters who are not experts in the technologies to understand the issues involved and make appropriate decisions when specifying their new (or converted!) boat, in consultation with their builder. 

    Malcolm Bridge, the principal author of the guide and a member of the Sustainable Boating Group, has owned an electric narrowboat for some years. The guide has been written in consultation with other electric boat owners and members of the Group, who are all experienced boaters owning boats ranging from historic ex working boats to modern leisure craft. 

    Download the guide at https://waterways.new1.fixed-staging.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/An-Introduction-to-Electric-Narrowboating-Issue-1-1.pdf

  • Mayor backs Birmingham Campaign Cruise organised by Fund Britain’s Waterways

    Mayor backs Birmingham Campaign Cruise organised by Fund Britain’s Waterways

    The Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group issued the following press release on 1st August 2023 about the upcoming Campaign Cruise in Birmingham.

    West Midlands Mayor Andy Street BACKS Birmingham campaign cruise where canal and river campaigners will descend upon ‘Britain’s Venice’ on Sunday 13th August

    Boaters, walkers and other canal enthusiasts will converge in Birmingham to urge the government to adequately fund Britain’s waterways – and they want the public to get on board. 

    The flotilla, which will assemble for 12 noon on the canal frontage next to the Mailbox (B1 1RS), has been organised by a new campaign group called Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW). The coalition comprises more than 50 organisations including those representing boaters, anglers and other waterways users.  Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

    It’s often said that Birmingham has more canals than Venice but their importance goes far beyond this famed statistic. Our vast and diverse canal network is a remarkable historical inheritance – cherished by the wildlife and local communities that exist around them and enjoy them today. I feel strongly that this very special legacy should be maintained, nurtured and celebrated for generations to come and I’m sure many fellow residents right across our region feel the same. That’s why I stand ready to work constructively with both local and national stakeholders to help ensure these unique waterways are preserved in the months and years ahead.

    Birmingham alone has 35 miles of canals, many dating back to the 1700s. But many fell into decline when railways and roads took over the long-distance transportation of goods.  

    Thanks to the determination of passionate campaigners and thousands of volunteer hours, many have since been restored, boosting jobs and the economy with new residential developments alongside restaurants, bars and other businesses.  

    All this is under threat, say FBW’s campaigners. The government has announced it will cut £300m over the next decade from its grant to Canal & River Trust, which manages Birmingham’s waterways. 

    FBW’s Chair, Les Etheridge, said:

    We want the prime minister to acknowledge the many social, economic and environmental benefits that Britain’s inland waterways provide and give his assurance that the government will intervene, where necessary, to ensure our rivers and canals remain fully open, navigable, safe and accessible for all. More than 8.5 million people (nearly 15% of the population) live on or within 1km of the waterways, and half of us live within 5km. In urban areas, the percentage is often much higher. Add to those figures the additional 10 million people who access the waterways for business, leisure, wellness or commuting, and it is clear that open, accessible and well-maintained waterways are vital for us all, and for Britain’s economy, ecology and wellbeing.

    Ivor Caplan, one of the event organisers said:

    I have lived on a narrowboat close to Birmingham and really appreciated the local heritage and contribution that these waterways made to the prosperity of the city. Along with many other residents on land and water, I enjoyed the green fingers that these canals provide between Birmingham and other West Midlands conurbations together with the varied environment that they support.

    Visitors to the event will enjoy the great variety of boats, including some original working boats, as well as adding their voice to this vital campaign to ensure that these waterways are there to be enjoyed by future generations.

    Inland Waterways Association Chief Executive, Professor Sarah Niblock, said:

    The Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign is not just about boating. The risk to our canals and rivers is equally important for all towpath users. Do show your support for this campaign by coming along to the towpaths at the Birmingham Mailbox from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm on Sunday 13th August. As well as enjoying the varied boats attending, there will be an online presentation explaining the importance of the campaign. A link will be added to this website nearer the date to access it, or via a QR code displayed at the event.

    Notes to Editors:

    The benefits of Britain’s inland waterways are documented in:

    About Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW): FBW brings together a wide range of organisations with the sole purpose of campaigning collectively for an increase in government funding of Britain’s inland waterways to avert their decline, and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental and social wellbeing value they provide. Established in June 2023, it already has over 50 members representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways.

    Contact:

    For more information, please contact:

    To join the group, please email membership@fundbritainswaterways.org.uk. For more information, please visit fundbritainswaterways.org.uk or email info@fundbritainswaterways.org.uk.

  • HS2 Select Committee Report Acknowledges IWA Concerns

    HS2 Select Committee Report Acknowledges IWA Concerns

    The HS2 (Crewe – Manchester) Bill Select Committee has published its First Special Report (19/7/2023).  It covers responses to individual petitioners, some traffic and design issues, and a major section on Ground Conditions in Cheshire.

    IWA’s correspondence on the subsidence risk to HS2 and the Trent & Mersey Canal is referenced several times in the report, and in its conclusions the Committee requires HS2 to “provide us with responses to the questions asked by the Inland Waterways Association”.

    IWA’s written evidence to the committee (Evidence on Route Selection & Subsidence Risk in Cheshire, 25/6/2023, published 11/7/2023) asked 9 questions about subsidence risk from the unstable ground in the Cheshire brine field, on matters that were not covered by or were insufficiently explained in response to other Petitioners’ evidence to the committee.  These cover the risks of HS2 construction reactivating historic areas of subsidence, and in particular where the route crosses the canal at Billinge Flash.

    IWA’s questions challenge assumptions about earthworks, drainage, differential subsidence, and future repairs.  IWA also proposed a local route modification that would avoid the major subsidence hazard around Billinge Flash, removing two of the three viaduct crossings of the canal between Middlewich and Broken Cross.  This would also provide significant cost savings and greatly reduce the visual and noise impacts of both construction and operation on the heritage, wildlife and recreational corridor of the Trent & Mersey Canal and its users.  The final question asks that HS2 fully investigate and consider the benefits of this proposed route modification.

    IWA awaits with interest the response from HS2 Ltd. to the critical questions and the constructive alternative route proposal, and to the Select Committee’s further deliberations when this and more information on ground investigations is published.

    [The photo shows Billinge Green Flash – by ‘Captain Wolf’]

  • Fund Britain’s Waterways Responds to Canal & River Trust Funding Announcement

    Fund Britain’s Waterways Responds to Canal & River Trust Funding Announcement

    The Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group issued the following press release on 11th July 2023 in response to a DEFRA announcement regarding Canal & River Trust Funding on 10th July 2023:

    Fund Britain’s Waterways warns against the Government’s latest Canal & River Trust funding offer

    After months of waiting for DEFRA to announce its decision on future grant funding for the Canal & River Trust (CRT), and less than a fortnight after the launch of Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW), the Secretary of State has now confirmed that the Government plans at least to continue providing grant funding to CRT beyond March 2027 when the current grant comes to an end. Whilst this is welcomed, FBW members including the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) are deeply concerned that the Secretary of State has only gone as far to offer “over £400m” for the ten-year period from April 2027 which marks a further dramatic cut1. According to CRT it will equate to at least a 40% reduction of funding in real terms compared to recent levels2. The current funding, which has been fixed at £52.6m per annum since 2021, is already failing to keep up with inflation and the physical toll that more frequent severe weather is having on the waterways’ infrastructure.  

    DEFRA’s offer is simply not enough to avert the decline of CRT’s network, particularly given the charity already faces a deficit of £12 -15m. The grant it receives from DEFRA makes up almost a quarter of its income and is critical in helping it lever in other sources of income and fund its essential maintenance programme. As Richard Parry, Chief Executive of CRT, has said3 the proposed funding cuts from 2027/2028 will have a potentially “devastating impact”.

    FBW is campaigning to ensure that beyond this Parliament there will be sufficient grant funding to retain the huge environmental, economic and social benefits that Britain’s inland waterways provide. That includes the 2,000 miles of waterways managed by CRT which alone contribute £6.1bn per year in economic and social value4. It is why, as part of FBW’s broader campaign, it will continue to work with CRT and others to encourage the Government to rethink this week’s funding announcement.

    Les Etheridge, Chair of FBW, said:

    The Government must take heed of CRT’s warnings. Otherwise, these proposed cuts will result in the closure of waterways, harming businesses and placing communities at risk as the condition of CRT’s waterways inevitably deteriorates.

    IWA’s CEO, Professor Sarah Niblock, added:

    The waterways renaissance has been one of the UK’s biggest success stories of the past 50 years on all levels. It is actually hard to find the words to express how devastated we feel and how fearful we are for the future in the wake of this decision. Sadly, the government don’t seem to have even referred to their own data on the sheer scale of benefits offered by the waterways to our economy, ecology and wellness. I urge everyone to express their concerns to their MPs as a priority.

    Notes to Editors:

    1. DEFRA’s Written Statement is available to view at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-07-10/hcws924
    2. CRT media release Government funding cuts put future of nation’s historic canals at risk | Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)
    3. Ibid
    4. “Valuing Our Waterways” (November 2022) published by CRT / Simetrica-Jacobs, with all methodology aligning with 2022 HM Treasury Green Book valuation techniques https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/valuing-our-waterways

    About Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW): FBW brings together a wide range of organisations with the sole purpose of campaigning collectively for an increase in government funding of Britain’s inland waterways to avert their decline, and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental and social wellbeing value they provide. Established in June 2023, it already has over 40 members representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways – see below.

    Contact: For further information, please contact the IWA Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Niblock. Email: ceo@waterways.org.uk or call: 01494 783453.

    For more information about Fund Britain’s Waterways, or to join the group, please visit www.fundbritainswaterways.org.uk or email info@fundbritainswaterways.org.uk.

    FBW member organisations include:

    • Accessible Waterways Association, set up to inform, represent, and assist people who live with disabilities, impairments or accessibility issues, and who want to enjoy the inland waterways and their surrounding environments
    • Aqueduct Marina, an award-winning, 5 Gold Anchor, Clean Marina accredited narrowboat marina. Based on one of the best locations in the country on the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal in Church Minshull. We are a full-service marina with a busy boat yard, brokerage caravan site and cafe
    • Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, an affiliated group of boat clubs offering their members mutual facilities relating to boating on the inland waterways of England and Wales
    • Aylesbury Canal Society, promoting the use of and providing moorings on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal for over 50 years. The Society and its members have always been involved in waterways campaigning, which is needed today as much as it was back in the 1970s when ACS was formed.
    • Basingstoke Canal Society, working to secure an environmentally sustainable long-term future of the Basingstoke Canal for the benefit of its users and the community
    • Bradley Canal Restoration Society, working toward the restoration of the Bradley Canal, from the Bradley Locks Workshop to the Walsall Canal at Moorcroft
    • Braunston Marina, a major centre for leisure craft and narrowboats at the crossroads of the Grand Union and Oxford Canals
    • British Canoeing, the national governing body for paddlesports in the UK
    • British Marine, trade body for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry, representing 1400+ member businesses, through regional and group specific member associations which include:  
    • British Marine’s Inland Boating Association withover 100 independent companies offering river and canal holidays on hire boats, hotel boats, plus passenger trip boats and business services
    • British Marine’s Passenger Boat Association representing all sectors of the passenger boat industry, including scheduled transport services, pleasure trips, private & business hire
    • The Broads Hire Boat Federation including operators of holiday hire cruisers and day-hire craft on the Norfolk Broads
    • British Marine’s London and Thames Valley Regional Association which has over 250 members, of which over 80 operate their business alongside the non-tidal and tidal River Thames
    • British Marine Inland Boating, formerly the Association of Pleasure Craft Operators APCO. The main trade body for inland waterway businesses, representing over 100 independent companies offering river and canal holidays on hire boats, day boats, hotel boats, passenger trip boats and business services.
    • Chesterfield Canal Trust, working to promote the full restoration and appropriate development of the Chesterfield Canal, and to campaign for the construction of the Rother Valley Link, a navigable waterway to join the Chesterfield Canal to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
    • Commercial Boat Operators Association, the prime trade organisation involved in the effort to sustain and increase freight carriage on our waterways for economic and environmental reasons
    • DBA – The Barge Association, the club for people interested in leisure and liveaboard barging on the inland waterways of UK and Europe
    • Electric Boat Association, championing the interests of electric boat owners
    • Fox Narrowboats, a long-established family business operating a marina in March in Cambridgeshire, providing narrowboat and day boat hire, and curating a comprehensive blog about Fenland waterways
    • Foxhangers, an established boatyard and hire fleet in Wiltshire employing approx. 35 people and providing 12,000 visitor nights each year, grown since its founding in 1997 following the restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal after massive investment from British Waterways, local government, and the National Lottery
    • Great Ouse Boating Association, representing boaters on the rivers Great Ouse, Cam, Lark, Little Ouse, Wissey and associated East Anglian waterways of England
    • Historic Narrow Boat Club, a not-for-profit national club dedicated to preserving the working heritage of UK canals, from the boats themselves to details of the waterways on which they travel
    • Inland Waterways Association, the only independent, national charity dedicated to supporting and regenerating Britain’s navigable rivers and canals as places for leisure, living and business
    • Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, the charity that restored the Kennet & Avon Canal which runs from Bristol to Reading and now operates 9 trip boats, including 4 for disabled passengers, and the world famous and fully operational Crofton Pumping Station
    • Kennet & Avon Trade Association, a local trade association for businesses operating on the Kennet & Avon Canal
    • Lowland Canals Association, aiming to promote the interests and wellbeing of boaters and other users of the lowland canals
    • National Association of Boat Owners, listening to boat owners, speaking out for boat owners, representing boat owners
    • National Inland Navigation Forum, a forum bringing together organisations with inland navigational interests
    • Newbury Boat Company, a family-run marina within a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Newbury
    • Norbury Wharf, located at the heart of the Shropshire Union Canal at Norbury Junction. Offering full boat yard facilities and hire boats all year round.
    • Residential Boat Owners’ Association, the only national organisation which exclusively represents and promotes the interests of people living on boats in the British Isles
    • River Thames Society, a charity formed in 1962 to help look after the Thames, for its protection and promotion from the source to the sea
    • Roving Canal Traders Association, a non-profit making organisation run to help support and promote the diverse array of existing and potential Canal & River Trust registered Roving Traders on our waterways
    • Royal Yachting Association, the national governing body for dinghy, motor and sail cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft, and a leading representative body for inland waterways cruising in the UK
    • Russell Newbery Register, started as an owners & enthusiasts club and formed to promote and preserve a valuable piece of Britain’s Industrial and Canal heritage & history
    • Shire Cruisers, a hire fleet and boatyard which helps customers to explore the Pennine canals and Yorkshire navigations
    • Shropshire Union Canal Society, working to maintain, improve and restore the Shropshire Union Canal network for over 50 years. The society’s activities include restoration work to open up the dry section of the Montgomery Canal in Shropshire, enhancement and maintenance work centred on Ellesmere on the Llangollen Canal, and bringing knowledge of the SU system to a wider audience through talks and guided walks.
    • Thames MotorBoaters Association, representing owners of powered craft registered on the non-tidal Thames
    • The Baldwin Trust, a small charity based in Leicestershire who provide therapeutic narrowboat cruises on Leicestershire waterways. With over 40 years of service to the community, in a typical season the Baldwin Trust gives over 2000 people, many of whom have mobility and other challenges, a very enjoyable day out on the water.
    • The Boating Association, set up over 70 years ago to promote co-operation and comradeship between all river users and all associated waterways, to ensure the extension, development and improvement of these waterways and of their facilities and amenities so as to make the waterways safer and more pleasant
    • Torksey Yacht Club, a small club based at the junction of the Fossdyke Navigation and the River Trent at the ancient village of Torksey
    • Trent and Mersey Canal Society, founded in 1974 when Harecastle Tunnel was closed, and repairs looked unlikely. Later we fought for the repair and re-opening of Anderton Boat Lift.
    • TrentLink, a discussion group of 1,600 cruising boaters of narrow boats to seagoing cruisers with a particular interest in the safe navigation of the tidal River Trent that links the “East Midlands” and “Yorkshire and North East” Canal & River Trust Regions
    • Wendover Canal Trust, bringing the Wendover Canal to life, by rebuilding and relining the canal, increasing biodiversity and attracting more people to enjoy our ever-improving green corridor and improve their wellbeing
    • Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, the UK’s largest canal restoration project – 72 miles from the Kennet & Avon Canal near Melksham in Wiltshire via Swindon to the River Thames Abingdon in Oxfordshire – estimated to deliver £50m economic benefit annually and £150m wellbeing benefit annually, when complete
    • Your Helmsman, a boat mover, helm instructor and boating coach
  • Government’s Waterways Funding Cuts will hit UK Economy, Ecology And Health

    Government’s Waterways Funding Cuts will hit UK Economy, Ecology And Health

    IWA is concerned about the thousands of jobs, health and wellbeing benefits and nature habitats that could be lost if our canals and rivers fall into disrepair due to government funding cuts following an announcement from DEFRA today. Our volunteers stopped the canal network from being concreted over in the 1950s and, since then, have supported and helped the restoration of 500 miles of navigable waterways with the opportunity to transform another 500 miles. 

    It’s estimated that 80,000 jobs are directly connected to Britain’s waterways, from canal side cafes to major housing, sporting and leisure developments, which collectively contribute £1.5 billion annually to the economy.

    IWA issued this press release following the announcement and is now urging the public to write to their MPs to object to the Government’s announcement that it will reduce its maintenance and repair grant funding by more than £300 million in real terms over the next decade.

    The Association’s National Chair, Les Etheridge, said:

    Our waterways system is in very real danger of disappearing. If parts of the network fall into disrepair or close, this will be at the cost of the hundreds if not thousands of businesses that rely daily on waterways users.

    He emphasised that DEFRA has cut Canal & River Trust funding at a time when the bill for maintaining these precious assets is actually growing exponentially, not falling, due to climate change and inflation:

    Adverse weather events such as hot dry spells and storms have already damaged heritage buildings and structures and resulted in alarming rises in fish deaths in canals, where still water is particularly vulnerable to oxygen depletion. At a time like this, the Government should be protecting nature and wildlife, not turning its back on it.

    DEFRA’s reduced grant allocation to the Canal & River Trust, the body responsible for managing and maintaining 2000 miles of UK waterways, has come in spite of much evidence accepted by the Government showing that blue-green spaces deliver substantial benefits to the economy, to individuals and communities, and to nature and biodiversity. 

    Our CEO, Professor Sarah Niblock, said:

    We’re representing the needs of millions of people in the UK who rely on the waterways for their mental and physical health as well as for work, commuting and leisure. Among the people who will be worst hit by any decline will be those who are already most vulnerable such as those living in deprived areas, most of which have waterways running through them. In urban areas, the waterways offer some of the only glimpses of nature we get as well as a space for different parts of the community to interact.

    The Environment Agency, which is funded mainly by DEFRA, received less than half the expected grant in aid funding which pays for their operational staff, maintenance work and major asset improvement or replacement projects.

    Prof Niblock added:

    Our inland waterways offer an incredible solution to many societal challenges – economic regeneration, addressing the mental health crisis, building community cohesion as well as mitigating the effects of climate change. The cost-benefit analysis of investment is irrefutable but it’s as if the government is now turning its back on this.

    All of Britain’s waterways require considerable investment to maintain but, with some canals dating back 250 years, ageing infrastructure and the growing impact of climate change will lead to increasing repair backlogs and inevitable closures of sections of the waterways.

    Mr Etheridge said:

    We’re already seeing increasing and extended levels of closures and each one of those impacts businesses relying on passing trade.

    The DEFRA offer of £400m over 10 years averages out as grant funding of £40m per year from 2028-2037, compared with the current £52.6m per year. At the level of spend on operating, maintaining and repairing waterways reported by CRT for 2021/22, IWA estimates that with an average grant reduction of £12.6m per year, the funding cuts would mean:

    • being unable to do winter maintenance on 586 miles of waterway
    • being unable to operate, maintain and repair 156 miles of waterway
    • that 50% of the spend on reservoirs will be unfunded.

    Mr Etheridge said that the renaissance and popularity of the waterways is due in no small part to the work of tireless campaigners and volunteers over the past 75 years-plus, but that could soon be consigned to history.

    IWA is running a campaign to Protect Our Waterways which you can learn more about here. The Association is also a founding member of Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW), a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways. FBW is campaigning for national and local government to act now and protect the public benefit and natural capital of our waterways. Visit the Fund Britain’s Waterways website to learn more.

  • IWA Supports Fund Britain’s Waterways

    IWA Supports Fund Britain’s Waterways

    Today IWA and its partners formally announced the formation of the Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group (FBW) in a press release which can be viewed here. We had intended to launch the group in response to Defra’s announcement of the outcome of the review of government funding for the Canal & River Trust from 2028 onwards. However, despite being due in July 2022, the announcement has been repeatedly delayed. It is now clear that the situation is too urgent for us to wait any longer.

    CRT’s government grant is fixed at its current level of £52.6m per annum until 2027. This already puts CRT in a difficult financial situation because of high inflation, the increasing impact of extreme weather resulting from climate change, and the substantial additional funding needed for reservoir maintenance in the wake of the near-collapse of the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir in 2019.

    A decision by government to further reduce CRT funding would threaten real cuts in maintenance, potentially leading to decline and even closure of some waterways. It was the likelihood of this outcome that triggered the coming together of the waterways family to form FBW. Although it was CRT’s funding which provided the impetus, we are only too well aware that inadequate funding is by no means confined to CRT and is risking the whole waterway network. FBW will therefore be campaigning for all navigation authorities to receive appropriate funding.

    IWA is giving its full support to FBW and is providing the secretariat and administrative functions. Our National Chair Les Etheridge is chairing the steering group, which comprises representatives of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, British Marine, IWA, NABO and the Royal Yachting Association. FBW already represents hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways, and membership will be broadened to include any organisation or individual with an interest in using or supporting inland waterways whether canal, river, tidal river or estuary. Plans are being made for high-profile campaign cruises and other activities, starting with a campaign cruise in Birmingham over the weekend of 12th – 13th August 2023.

    Our CEO Sarah Niblock said:

    Regrettably the government appears not to appreciate the case for maintaining our waterways properly, and it is the job of FBW to make sure that case is clearly heard and acted upon. It is heartening to see the waterways family coming together in their desire to take concerted action.

    Our waterways need as many voices as possible to make the case for funding at a level to ensure that all the benefits documented in our Waterways for Today report can continue. Visit the Fund Britain’s Waterways page to see how you can get involved, and please also like, retweet and share our posts on social media.

  • Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group Launched

    Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group Launched

    The Fund Britain’s Waterways Action Group was formally launched on 27th June 2023 with the following press release:

    Fund Britain’s Waterways calls on Government to stop inland waterways falling into disrepair

    Britain’s unique and well-loved network of canals and navigable rivers is deteriorating because of inadequate funding. At a time of unprecedented challenges caused by the climate emergency and high inflation, government is failing to respond. Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW), a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways, is campaigning for national and local government to act now and protect the public benefit and natural capital of our waterways.

    Management of Britain’s 5,000 miles of navigable inland waterways is fragmented. The Canal & River Trust (CRT) has the greatest responsibility covering 2,000 miles. It is already in a difficult financial situation with a fixed government grant of £52.6m per year until 2027. Defra was expected to confirm funding for 2028 onwards in July 2022 but has not yet made an announcement. Other waterways face similar problems: the Environment Agency is operating with £22m per year, one third of its identified requirement, and Scottish Canals has over £70m of maintenance work outstanding.

    The consequences of failing to maintain waterway infrastructure were clearly shown by the evacuation of 1,500 local residents in case the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir collapsed in 2019. This event has shown the need for increased spend on CRT reservoirs of up to £25m per year, but it is as if the lessons have not yet been learnt.

    The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of Britain’s inland waterways as people sought blue and green spaces to help recover. This was acknowledged in Defra’s own Environmental Improvement Plan, providing levelling up, economic, environmental, health and wellbeing benefits for us all.

    The combined annual economic and social value of CRT waterways alone has been quantified as £6.1bn, including cost savings of £1.1bn for the NHS from active use of the waterways and towpaths.

    Despite this greater understanding of their value, and the deteriorating state of the infrastructure today, the Government appears intent on significantly reducing its funding for the waterways, says Les Etheridge, Chair of the FBW steering group and National Chair of the Inland Waterways Association.

    He said:

    Government needs to recognise that saying they value the inland waterways is not enough to prevent their decline. Whilst we in FBW understand the financial pressures that everyone faces, the financial cuts are too deep, and adequate public funding needs to be allocated to maintain these national assets. FBW will be taking action starting with a campaign cruise in Birmingham over the weekend of 12th – 13th August 2023.

    The initial member organisations of Fund Britain’s Waterways include:

    • Accessible Waterways Association, set up to inform, represent, and assist people who live with disabilities, impairments or accessibility issues, and who want to enjoy the Inland Waterways and their surrounding environments
    • Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, an affiliated group of boat clubs offering their members mutual facilities relating to boating on the inland waterways of England and Wales
    • Basingstoke Canal Society, working to secure an environmentally sustainable long-term future of the Basingstoke Canal for the benefit of its users and the community
    • Braunston Marina, a major centre for leisure craft and narrowboats at the crossroads of the Grand Union and Oxford Canals
    • British Canoeing, the national governing body for paddlesports in the UK
    • British Marine, trade body for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry, representing 1400+ member businesses, through regional and group specific member associations which include:   
      • British Marine’s Inland Boating Association withover 100 independent companies offering river and canal holidays on hire boats, hotel boats, plus passenger trip boats and business services
      • British Marine’s Passenger Boat Association representing all sectors of the passenger boat industry, including scheduled transport services, pleasure trips, private & business hire
      • The Broads Hire Boat Federation including operators of holiday hire cruisers and day-hire craft on the Norfolk Broads
      • British Marine’s London and Thames Valley Regional Association which has over 250 members, of which over 80 operate their business alongside the non-tidal and tidal River Thames
    • Chesterfield Canal Trust, working to promote the full restoration and appropriate development of the Chesterfield Canal, and to campaign for the construction of the Rother Valley Link, a navigable waterway to join the Chesterfield Canal to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
    • Commercial Boat Operators Association, the prime trade organisation involved in the effort to sustain and increase freight carriage on our waterways for economic and environmental reasons
    • DBA – The Barge Association, the club for people interested in leisure barging on the inland waterways of Europe
    • Electric Boat Association, championing the interests of electric boat owners
    • Fox Narrowboats, a long-established family business operating a marina in March in Cambridgeshire, providing narrowboat and day boat hire, and curating a comprehensive blog about Fenland waterways
    • Great Ouse Boating Association, representing boaters on the rivers Great Ouse, Cam, Lark, Little Ouse, Wissey and associated East Anglian waterways of England
    • Historic Narrow Boat Club, a not-for-profit national club dedicated to preserving the working heritage of UK canals, from the boats themselves to details of the waterways on which they travel
    • Inland Waterways Association, the only independent, national charity dedicated to supporting and regenerating Britain’s navigable rivers and canals as places for leisure, living and business
    • Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, the charity that restored the Kennet & Avon Canal which runs from Bristol to Reading and now operates 9 trip boats, including 4 for disabled passengers, and the world famous and fully operational Crofton Pumping Station
    • Kennet & Avon Trade Association, a local trade association for businesses operating on the Kennet & Avon Canal
    • Lowland Canals Association, aiming to promote the interests and well-being of boaters and other users of the lowland canals
    • National Association of Boat Owners, listening to boat owners, speaking out for boat owners, representing boat owners
    • National Inland Navigation Forum, a forum bringing together organisations with inland navigational interests
    • Newbury Boat Company, a family-run marina within a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Newbury
    • Residential Boat Owners’ Association, the only national organisation which exclusively represents and promotes the interests of people living on boats in the British Isles
    • Roving Canal Traders Association, a non-profit making organisation run to help support and promote the diverse array of existing and potential Canal & River Trust registered Roving Traders on our waterways
    • Royal Yachting Association, the national governing body for dinghy, motor and sail cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft, and a leading representative body for inland waterways cruising in the UK
    • Thames MotorBoaters Association, representing owners of powered craft registered on the non-tidal Thames
    • Torksey Yacht Club, a small club based at the junction of the Fossdyke Navigation and the River Trent at the ancient village of Torksey

    with the stated intention of significantly widening membership of the Fund Britain’s Waterways action group to any organisation or individual with an interest in using or supporting inland waterways whether canal, river, tidal river or estuary (excluding navigation authorities).

    The benefits of Britain’s inland waterways are documented in:

  • Nominations are open for the 2023 Awards

    Nominations are open for the 2023 Awards

    Hundreds of volunteers give their time to support the waterways through IWA. Each year, a number of these volunteers are nominated for and presented with IWA’s national awards. The awards are a way of recognising the amazing work carried out by our supporters throughout the year, and over longer periods of time too.

    Nominations for the 2023 awards are now open. From fundraising efforts to restoration endeavours, it is time to say thank you for the contributions that we simply could not do without. 

    Nominations for the 2023 awards are invited from members, branches and regions and should be emailed to awards@waterways.org.uk or posted to Awards Panel c/o IWA Head Office, Unit 16B, Ground Floor, Chiltern Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham, HP5 2PX by 30th June 2023. Award nominations are then considered by an Awards Panel nominated by trustees and recommendations made to trustees for final approval.  

    The winners of the 2023 awards will be announced at the national AGM in September.  

    Award Categories

    Cyril Styring Trophy – this is the Association’s premier award and is presented to a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the Association’s Campaign. 

    John Heap Salver – the Association’s major fundraising award, the John Heap Salver, is given to an IWA member who has made an outstanding contribution to raising funds for the Association.  

    Christopher Power Prize – this prize is awarded to the person, society or trust who has made the most significant contribution to the restoration of an amenity waterway. 

    Richard Bird Medals – these medals are awarded to members whose efforts and support are considered to have brought considerable benefit to the Association over a sustained period.   

    Click here to learn more about the award categories.

  • Canalway Cavalcade celebrates 40th anniversary

    Canalway Cavalcade celebrates 40th anniversary

    Interested in joining the committee? Click here!

    The early bank holiday in May saw the 40th anniversary celebration of the annual Canalway Cavalcade festival taking place in Little Venice, London. Glorious weather on the opening day of Canalway Cavalcade 2023 saw over 8,000 visitors to the event with 120 boats shimmering in the Pool and along the Grand Union Canal. People from all walks of life came together to share their passion for waterways with narrowboats, both modern and historic, moored alongside widebeam boats in the Pool. Continuous cruisers, liveaboards, and leisure boaters, locals and those from further afield gathered to highlight why it is so important that we #ProtectOurWaterways at this time of urgent need.

    The long weekend included a packed schedule as always with a unique selection of events and activities. Stallholders and food stands brought a variety of crafts and interest to the event this year, most being based locally to Little Venice. Particular highlights included many regular attendees such as hand-woven baskets made by WoodWoolWillow, Peruvian delights by Inkas Craft, Handmade by Janet, and our regular Candle Powered Victorian Steamboats. Visitors were treated to many delicious treats too, including the vibrant Caribbean Hut, mouth-watering Mr Bombay and the delectable Greek Souvlaki. As with each year we also welcomed the ever-professional Jervis team and their real ale bar, the perfect place to enjoy the afternoon in the sunshine.

    At 1.30 on our first day Libby Bradshaw, Ceremonial and Children’s Activities Manager, introduced the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Hamza Taouzzale, who welcomed everyone to the City of Westminster and thanked IWA for putting on the event. Richard Parry, Chief Executive of Canal and River Trust followed with his thanks. Our National Chairman, Les Etheridge, welcomed everyone to the event, paying special attention to the dedication of volunteers for organising the event. And finally Tom Claydon, Chair of the Organising Committee, thanked the volunteers, Committee members and supporters whilst also encouraging attendees to volunteer for our 2024 event. Wrapping up the presentation, Libby asked Councillor Hamza Taouzzale to ring the bell to formally open the festival. This was echoed by cheers around the Pool, the ringing of bells and horns, and the start of the Pageant.

    In Rembrandt Gardens children and adults alike were entertained by Punch and Judy, a circus workshop, and the legendary Alarum Theatre with pieces such as “A Century of Boatwomen”. Faces were being painted and there was plenty of learning and joviality in the marquee over the weekend. Sunday saw the wonderful Teddy Bears’ picnic in the beautiful surrounds of the garden and the sun warmed the crowds almost the whole weekend. Other children and young people’s activities were led by the Pirate Castle from Camden, with Paddlesports taking place across the 2023 Canalway Cavalcade weekend. 

    This year the evenings brought a vibrant celebration of boating too. Friday night was the regular quiz, a packed tent for our annual Martin Ludgate extravaganza – raising nearly £100 from the raffle for the IWA. Saturday night saw the first variety night led by Mark Saxon our Commercial Manager, welcoming 25 brilliant artists performing spoken word and live music. On Sunday evening Craig Haslam once again excelled as Master of Ceremonies for the Procession of Illuminated Boats, where the boaters covered their craft with as many lights as would fit to the delight of hundreds of spectators standing on the Horse Bridge and around the Pool. A particular highlight included the Canal Dream Company and Slash Arts aboard the Boat Fit Co widebeam 2 Crew and A Cockapoo whose awe-inspiring laser, light and interpretive movement display blew the spectators away. We were delighted to welcome the Canal Dream Company for the second year, their programme throughout the 2023 Canalway Cavalcade weekend thrilled everyone who saw their performances and we thank them so much for their participation.

    On Monday afternoon, the 2023 Canalway Cavalcade awards were presented by John Edmonds, Vice President of IWA London Region.

    Marcus Boudier Trophy

    For the best decorated privately entered boat in Saturday’s themed Pageant, was awarded to Chedoona owned by Bob and Mary Metcalf

    Runner up: Thyme, owned by Elizabeth Jones

    The Ray Dunford Buckby Can Trophy

    For the best decorated boat entered by a waterway or community group:

    Sola Gratia, steerer Tim Clarke

    The Cruise Electric Trophy

    For the best illuminated boat in Sunday evening’s Procession:

    Tros Yr Afon, steerer Phil Gaskell

    Runners up: The Canal Dream Company and the Slash Arts Team aboard 2 Crew and a Cockapoo, owned by Calum Henderson

    The Graham Capelin Award

    For the best entry by a boater who has not previously taken part in either the Saturday Pageant or Illuminated Boats:

    Badger, owned by Naomi Goldsmith Dixon

    Runner up: Lucky Chance, owned by Chris Pratt

    The Westminster Trophy

    Donated by the City of Westminster for the winner of the Boat Handling Competition:

    Middlesex, steerer Robin Hendley

    Runner up: Emu, steerer Ben Partridge

    The Roger Squires Trophy

    Presented by St Pancras Cruising Club in recognition of Roger’s 10 years as their Commodore, it is awarded to the best novice competitor in the Boat Handling Competition:

    Moonraker, steerer Daniel McKnight

    Runner up: Badger, steered by Naomi Goldsmith Dixon

    The Mike Stevens Memorial Trophy

    Goes to the “Best Boat” at Canalway Cavalcade, selected from all the boat entries at the event, it is awarded in recognition of Mike’s outstanding contribution to IWA and Canalway Cavalcade during his lifetime:

    Tugby, owned by George Cutting

    The Idle Women Shield

    Sponsored by Jan Knox, proprietor of Canal Experience Training School, the shield was awarded to Freebird, steered by Cath Jennings

    Runner up: Uplander II, steered by Sarah Honeysett

    The Vic Trott Memorial Trophy

    Awarded for the best Boaters’ Sunday Best costume. This year, it was awarded to the Moore family.

    Tom Claydon, Chairman of the IWA Canalway Cavalcade Organising Committee said:

    It’s wonderful to welcome everyone to the 40th Anniversary of IWA Canalway Cavalcade, an incredible milestone for this unique spectacle in the heart of London’s waterways. This event would not be possible without the 10,000 hours of dedicated volunteer time, and I thank each and every person for making this such a great success. Soon we start planning for 2024 and we need you to join us to make it happen! Find out how on our website.

    Details about next year’s event will be released shortly. In the meantime, read on to find out how you can join the fantastic team behind this event.

    Canalway Cavalcade 2023 - Tom Claydon

    Join the Committee

    Do you love Canalway Cavalcade and would like to be a part of the team behind the scenes?

    We are incredibly thankful for all of their hard work and dedication as a huge amount of effort goes into organising an event of this scale. In order for it to go ahead next year, we urgently need to fill several vacancies on our organising committee.

    Roles include:

    • Chair of the committee
    • Marketing & Publicity Manager and Assistant
    • Liaison Officer
    • Commercial Manager
    • Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Site & Services Assistant

    There is already a superb team in place but we need extra support to make sure no one becomes overloaded. Having the organising committee at full capacity will ensure that Canalway Cavalcade remains a really fun and interesting event to be involved with!

    Additional information including job roles are available on request. All vacancies are voluntary roles. Meetings are held once a month on Zoom and become more frequent in the run up to the event.

    If you fancy getting involved, please contact us with a short description of your experience/interests. Make sure to indicate which role you think would suit you best.

  • IWA publishes new guide to the Denver Crossing

    IWA publishes new guide to the Denver Crossing

    Like most rivers the Great Ouse flows into the sea. The main boundary between the non tidal river and estuary is at Denver Sluice. The Middle Level is a series of drainage channels. To get from the non tidal waters of the River Great Ouse to the Middle Level requires a short estuary crossing between Denver and Salter’s Lode Lock. For those who have not made this crossing before, it can be daunting. Chris Howes, author of the Imray guides to the Great Ouse and Fenland Waterways, IWA member and Eastern Region representative has put together this very useful guide to navigating between the Middle Level and the Great Ouse.

    In it you well find details of how to contact the lock keepers at either end for the best times to cross, how the tides affect crossing and how to avoid the sand bar, as well as tips on equipment and checks to carry out before you make the crossing.

    View, download and print the guide here https://waterways.new1.fixed-staging.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IWA-Guide-to-the-Denver-Salters-Lode-Crossing.pdf

  • 2023 Trustee Applications Open

    2023 Trustee Applications Open

    Trustee Applications for 2023 are now open. We are seeking applications from candidates who demonstrate the experience and skillsets that will be needed over the next three years to complement the skills of existing Trustees on the Board and to fill any vacancies. 

    The role of the Association’s Trustees is to optimise the charitable benefit achieved in fulfilment of its charitable objectives. As a member of the Board, an individual Trustee’s role is to use their skills and judgement to work collectively with the other Trustees to:

    • ensure the charity is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit
    • comply with the charity’s governing document and the law
    • act in the charity’s best interests
    • manage the charity’s resources responsibly
    • act with reasonable care and skill
    • ensure the charity is accountable

    The opportunity will be further promoted on social media, through our newsletters, as well as through wider advertising. We are particularly seeking applications from individuals who are skilled in the areas of finance, fundraising, social media or Inland Waterways Association knowledge in this round of recruitment, but welcome applications from individuals with any experience they believe is valuable to the Association. 

    If you are interested in applying, the full applicant information pack is available here or can be obtained from IWA Head Office. Applications will close at midnight on 11 June and all applicants are asked to apply through providing a cover letter, completed skillset framework and CV to the Chair of the recruitment panel, Hannah Sterritt, at Hannah.sterritt@waterways.org.uk or via post to IWA Head Office: Unit 16B, Chiltern Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham, HP5 2PX  

  • Six New Silver Propeller Locations for 2023

    Six New Silver Propeller Locations for 2023

    IWA’s Silver Propeller Challenge was set up to encourage visitors to the less well-used parts of the system, in boats of all sizes. To complete the challenge visit 20 locations or more and then let us know – details on how to submit can be found here.

    This year, six new locations have been added, from Scotland to Kent, inviting exploration of some underused but fascinating corners of the waterways system.

    Two new Scottish locations have been added:

    Rutherglen

    Take an adventurous trip up the River Clyde and see Glasgow from a new angle, by boat or canoe and enjoy spectacular views ‘doon the watter’.

    Although visiting leisure craft are scarce, the tidal river through the city is regularly used by members of the Rutherglen Cruising Club, many of whom moor up at the Club moorings for the winter and head off down the Clyde for each summer spent along the west coast of Scotland.  The Club was formed in the 1930s when the Old Pals Club and the Strathclyde Boat Club amalgamated. The Club’s home moorings were next to a slaughterhouse on the river bank near to where the Thomas Seath shipbuilding yard was located.

    Access to the River Clyde from the connected Lowland Canal System, is via Bowling, and then head upstream. Glasgow weir (separating tidal water from non-tidal) prevents direct access to Rutherglen and this can be negotiated at high tide by making a booking via 0141 276 1585.  Check out the River Clyde page for navigation hints and tips on the river.

    Stirling

    Take a scenic cruise along the River Forth and visit the historic city of Stirling, by boat or canoe and enjoy the Scottish countryside and distant mountains.

    Visiting leisure craft are few and far between, but the brand new mooring pontoon installed by Stirling Council is a popular spot for canoeing and other water sports by the locals.

    Access from the connected Lowland Canals for boaters would be by joining the tidal River Carron at the Kelpies, heading downstream for a short distance to meet the Firth of Forth at Grangemouth. From there it’s upstream via Kincardine and Alloa to Stirling.  The river is tidal all the way. 

    Two rivers sharing a name have also been added, but they are in different counties:

    The River Stour in Suffolk is navigable from Cattawade near the Orwell Estuary to Brundon Mill, just upstream of Sudbury.  Except for the first three quarters of a mile below Sudbury, the river forms the county boundary between Suffolk and Essex, and was immortalised in the paintings of John Constable.  Fifteen locks were built by the River Stour Navigation Company, but the waterway had largely fallen out of commercial use by the early twentieth century.  Restoration of the Navigation was one of IWA’s earliest campaigns, leading to the formation of the River Stour Trust, which runs a high profile campaign for restoration today.  Several locks have been restored and the whole Navigation can be used by canoes and other light craft.

    There is a right of navigation on the Kentish River Stour to Canterbury. However, it is presently navigable only from the sea at Pegwell Bay to Fordwich.  There are weirs a short distance above Fordwich Bridge – remnants of old mills.  It may be possible to canoe from Canterbury to Fordwich, but there is no official access or portage over the weirs.  Fordwich is the location for your Silver Propellor visit, encouraging you to have a scenic cruise along the quiet Kent countryside.

    The Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

    The Middlewood flight of locks, which connect the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal to the upper River Irwell and thus to the rest of the connected navigable system were restored and reopened in 2008 as part of a £600 million large property development.  However, due to an absence of water supply, the locks are not available for public access and the entrance off the Irwell has silted up.  The upper River Irwell leads into the Manchester Ship Canal, and can be accessed via Pomona Dock No3 from the Bridgewater Canal. A photo of your craft anywhere on the upper River Irwell in the vicinity of Middlewood Locks and the entrance to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal would be good evidence of your visit.

    Thames and Medway Canal

    The Thames and Medway Canal sees few waterways visitors other than local paddle-sports enthusiasts, ducks and enthusiastic volunteers from the Thames and Medway Canal Association who turn out on regular work parties to keep the waterway clean and accessible – so why not pay them a visit?

    The western side of the Thames & Medway Canal was opened between Gravesend and Higham in 1801 and continued in use until 1934, but the eastern end of the canal, mostly comprising Higham Tunnel, took longer to build and was sold to the railway company in 1846 and closed to Navigation.  For more about Higham Tunnel, check out our feature on canal tunnels.  For more about the history of the canal, see the Thames and Medway Canal page.

  • HS2 Continues to Impact Waterways: Update

    HS2 Continues to Impact Waterways: Update

    IWA continues to engage with any new public consultations and parliamentary petitioning opportunities to help protect the waterways and their users from undue impacts of HS2.

    For the extensive work already underway on Phase 1, London to Birmingham and to Fradley/Handsacre we rely on local Branches and members to monitor construction issues affecting their waterways.  You can contact us for advice, and any specific problems can be reported direct to the HS2 helpline: HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk Freephone: 08081 434 434 .   Please copy your comments and HS2’s responses to IWA then we can monitor the bigger picture. Contact HS2@waterways.org.uk

    PHASE 1 (London to Fradley)

    Phase 1 between London, Birmingham and Fradley is under active construction with tunnels, major viaducts, and road crossings being followed by large scale earth moving for cuttings and embankments.  The engineering works are said now to be 40% complete, with the first services due to run between London and Birmingham “by the early 2030s”.

    Paddington Arm

    In the London area, work is underway on most of the tunnels and several of the viaducts.

    The route passes below the Regents Canal and the Paddington Arm in tunnels at depths of 12 to 30 metres.  More visible works by the contractor SCS are two temporary bridges over the canal near Willesden Euro Terminal site, one a conveyer bridge for spoil, the other for transporting tunnel segments. 

    Grand Union Canal

    The route emerges from tunnel to cross the Colne Valley on the very long but attractively designed Colne Valley Viaduct with arched spans over the Grand Union Canal and adjoining lakes.  The piers are under construction and the deck is being attached by a huge launching girder.  The canal crossing is timetabled for January to March 2024 with daytime closures requested.  There have been no complaints to CRT so far from this construction work by the contractor ALIGN, although concerns remain about the long-term noise impacts of the operational railway, here as at other canal crossings.

    Wendover Arm

    Further north, an unresolved concern is potential effects of a deep cutting on the springs feeding the Wendover Arm and Wilstone Reservoir.  Modelling of the aquifer has been completed and the results are with the Environment Agency for scrutiny but are not yet published.  Meanwhile, the HS2 Chiltern AONB Panel has awarded £300k to the Wendover Canal Trust for work to upgrade the towpath.

    Oxford Canal

    The section of route being constructed by the contractor EKFB includes culverting part of the Boddington Feeder to the Oxford Canal.  The Oxford Canal Viaduct crosses the summit section by Willison’s Bridge 128 near Wormleighton where a temporary haul road bridge has been built.  The canal wall under the viaduct will have sheet piles with a concrete capping.  After a public consultation, the viaduct piers and offside abutment wall will have masonry cladding, rather than a concrete finish, although the nearest canal bridges are brick.  IWA’s main concern remains the operational noise impact from trains on this currently tranquil and remote part of the canal, both at the viaduct and where the route skirts a loop in the canal near Bridge 127.

    In Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Birmingham the contractor is BBV and IWA has attended several of their liaison meetings with CRT to discuss the designs of various canal crossings and help minimise construction impacts.

    Grand Union Canal

    The Longhole Viaduct over the Grand Union Canal, close to Longhole Bridge 31 near Welsh Road, will be a full span crossing with piers set back from the canal.  The main span will be launched (pushed in) to minimise the canal closure.  Construction is due later this year.  The temporary conveyer bridge over the canal for moving spoil from the nearby tunnel is due to be removed in May in an overnight stoppage.  CRT received payment for the conveyer crossing as it saved many lorry journeys for the contractor.

    Birmingham & Fazeley Canal

    The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal viaduct crossing at Curdworth, below Lock 5, is adjacent to the M42 box bridge which has already been installed.  The first offside pier coffer dam started with piling in April, to be followed by the towpath side pier with 40 metres deep piling, requiring a short towpath closure and diversion.  The deck beams will be lifted in with a giant crane on the north side, then pre-cast units set between the beams, with each lift requiring locally controlled short canal closure.  When complete the viaduct will be used as a temporary haul road for construction of the adjacent embankment.  The canal stoppage details over the next 2 years are yet to be confirmed.

    Lichfield Canal

    The Cappers Lane Viaduct crossing of the Lichfield Canal near Huddlesford will include a canal diversion to maintain headroom, as agreed after earlier campaigning by IWA and Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust.  The new channel is to have a concrete invert and walls, with design details of the interface with the existing channel ongoing.  The design of the replacement Cappers Lane road bridge is now agreed to have brick-faced wing walls with a concrete string course, patterned concrete abutments, and open style parapets.  The bridge construction is imminent, but there is no firm timetable yet for the canal channel or the viaduct.  The displaced boats of Lichfield Cruising Club have now moved into their completed new basin, which was funded by HS2, after many years campaigning by LCC and IWA.

    Trent & Mersey Canal

    There has been extensive clearance work around Wood End Lock above Fradley Junction for construction of the Trent & Mersey Canal Viaduct, and for the Handsacre Link which will now just miss the canal following IWA’s earlier campaigning.  But there has been no update on the final design of the viaduct recently.  A temporary canal bridge will be needed above Shade House Lock to construct the short stub of embankment north of the viaduct if this is built as part of Phase 1 as originally planned (although logically it would be done as part of Phase 2a).

    Birmingham & Warwick Junction Canal

    The design of the Saltley Viaduct in Birmingham across the Grand Union Canal below Garrison Locks has a wet abutment, and the site is tightly constrained.  However, the proposal to close and locally infill the canal to aid the preferred method of construction is not accepted by CRT which wants a narrow channel maintained for boats and water supply.  The construction timing is currently uncertain.  There is also a highway bridge crossing but with its piers set back from the canal this is less of a problem.

    Digbeth Branch Canal

    Also in Birmingham, construction of the Curzon Street Viaduct across the Digbeth Branch by Lock 6 is scheduled for winter 2023/24, possibly using night-time closures.  CRT want to avoid a simultaneous closure with the Saltley Viaduct works.

    PHASE 2a (Fradley to Crewe)

    Between Fradley and Crewe, early Environmental Works (trees, ponds, bat houses, etc) and some other enabling works are underway and statutory notices have been served on landowners, including CRT, but matters have been otherwise quiet.  The main concern with Phase 2a is construction of the Great Haywood Viaduct and subsequent operational noise impacts on the marina and Trent & Mersey Canal.  On 9 March the Government announced a 2-year delay to construction of Phase 2a.  The design contract was due to be let about now, followed by a main works contract later this year, but the timescale for these is now unclear.

    Meanwhile, several towpath improvement projects funded by HS2 are proceeding as planned.

    Trent & Mersey Canal

    Towpath work between Shade House Lock above Fradley Junction and the A515 Kings Bromley Road Bridge has now started.  It is being funded by HS2’s Road Safety Fund through Staffordshire County Council and being carried out by their contractors Amey.  The 3km length includes some bank protection and is expected to take 6 months.  There will be towpath closures and, with access at Woodend Lock being currently closed by HS2, there are no intermediate access points so it may be closed throughout.  However, CRT are conscious of how well used is this section, particularly over the summer and at weekends, so have asked that closures be limited as much as possible in length and to their working days of Monday to Friday.  This section of towpath is unusually wide so people may be able to pass behind the sections being worked on.

    In addition, funding has apparently been allocated by the Department for Transport for a new footbridge over the canal between Shade House and Wood End to connect the towpath with an offside footpath.  This would presumably be separate from the HS2 viaduct.  The canal is quite wide here so it would be a major structure but as yet there is no design.  It would seem easier and less expensive to simply reinstate public access to the tail bridge at Wood End Lock which is currently closed by the HS2 works.

    Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal

    Towpath resurfacing from Great Haywood to Milford is being funded by HS2 through the Trent-Sow HS2 Group (on which IWA is represented) and is due to start in April.  The 3.75km length is expected to take 5 months.  CRT have requested further funding from the Department for Transport to continue this from Milford to Baswich and the A34.  They are also making funding bids to HS2’s Community & Environment Fund for work on the Junction Bridge and toll office at Great Haywood, and to their Biodiversity Fund for work on hedges, reedbeds etc. on both the S&W Canal and T&M Canal.

    PHASE 2b West (Crewe to Manchester)

    CRT are negotiating a ‘Side Agreement’ to the current Bill, based on their Phase 1 agreement with some improvements for clarity and protection, which may avoid the need for a Select Committee petition hearing.  The hearings have started but there has been no contact from the Committee or HS2 about a hearing date.  Previously, CRT with route-wide interests has been timetabled nearly last, and IWA has been grouped with them.  IWA’s main petition is on noise mitigation at the canal crossings, one issue that CRT has not significantly addressed.  CRT’s main outstanding concerns are the viaduct crossings.  Two more Additional Provisions are expected although their scope is not known and the impact on the timing of the Hearings is uncertain. 

    Middlewich Branch Canal

    The three Shropshire Union Canal Viaducts carry additional tracks into the Crewe North Rolling Stock Depot, crossing the canal between Bridges 25 and 26 on the Middlewich Branch.  In place of the visual impact of 3 adjacent viaducts with different alignments and heights, a single covered tunnel had been considered (illustrated in Canal Boat magazine in 2019) but CRT are currently reconsidering the design.  There will also be a new road bridge carrying the realigned Clive Green Lane, and IWA’s Additional Provision petition asks for changes to a towpath access cycle ramp.

    Trent & Mersey Canal

    There are three crossings of the Trent & Mersey Canal, by the River Dane Viaduct near Bridge 177, Puddinglake Brook Viaduct between bridges 179 and 190A, and the Trent & Mersey Canal Viaduct at Billinge Flash near Whatcroft.  This flash is the most notable area on the whole route of former high subsidence due to historic brine pumping.  CRT are asking for longer viaducts with more spans to better maintain the open views.

    Subsidence Risk

    An information paper published on 3 March on “Understanding the Ground Risk across the Cheshire Plain” seeks to retrospectively justify HS2’s choice of route across the subsidence prone salt field.  It identifies the two areas most at risk from ground movement as Billinge Flash and around Clive Green Lane, which may also affect the new road crossing of the canal there.  It recommends the viaducts use bored piles with jacking points but does not address the transition between viaducts and embankments.

    PHASE 2b East

    The 2021 Integrated Rail Plan cut back the plans for the Eastern Leg of HS2 to terminate at East Midlands Parkway, near the River Soar, with the route north through Toton to Leeds being dropped.  Although no longer allocated any funding or timescale, it has not been entirely abandoned and the route safeguarding directions remain in place.  A new study of how to take HS2 into Leeds was promised but has not yet started.  Neither is there any timetable for a further Bill for the remaining section of HS2 East, nor any sign of the amended plans needed to connect this with East Midlands Parkway.

    This unsatisfactory state of affairs leaves both the Chesterfield Canal and the Ashby Canal restorations in limbo.  The Chesterfield Canal at Staveley is having to make provision for a rail bridge crossing that may never be built.  The housing development at Measham that would fund restoration of a section of the Ashby Canal is on hold pending a decision on an alternative route which was promised in 2018.

    Northern Powerhouse Rail High Speed Lines

    The Integrated Rail Plan also included plans for two new sections of high speed lines as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans for a Transpennine route upgrade: from Warrington to a junction with HS2 West and from Manchester to Marsden.  However, without any detailed route plans having been published their impacts on waterways are uncertain, and with no funding allocated or firm timescales, these plans seem to be just aspirational. 

    Consultation and Reporting

    HS2:    email: HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk       Freephone: 08081 434 434 

    IWA:    email: HS2@waterways.org.uk

  • Join the Big Help Out with IWA

    Join the Big Help Out with IWA

    We’ve been inspired by HM King Charles III’s life of service, and so we are encouraging everyone to do something as part of The Big Help Out on this Coronation bank holiday Monday 8th May for a national day of volunteering.  Let’s inspire the nation to support our inland waterways.  Here are some simple things that you could do to take part:

    1. Visit your local canal or river navigation and take some photos of anything that isn’t as it should be, or that needs to be improved – e.g. poorly maintained towpath or structures, rubbish in the waterway, etc.  Then send your photos to protect@waterways.org.uk – and we will follow up with the relevant authority.
    2. Send a letter or e-mail to your MP and/or local councillors telling them how much you value the waterways in your area, and why Government should not be cutting its maintenance support to the two main navigation authorities, Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency (because that’s exactly what Defra and the Treasury plan to do).
    3. Tell your friends about your recent visits to the waterways on social media and why you support the waterways.
    4. Donate to support our campaign.
    5. Spend a few minutes collecting litter along your local canal or riverbank and share pictures to protect@waterways.org.uk to show what you’ve done.  Every little helps!

    Then, if you would like to get involved longer term, please go to waterways.org.uk/support/ways-to-get-involved.

    We have roles all round the country from litter picking to rebuilding and restoration work; from media and web roles to secretary and chairs; social activities to helping at events.

  • IWA Response to CRT Licence fee consultation  

    IWA Response to CRT Licence fee consultation  

    Regarding overall price rises, bearing in mind that CRT is dependent on a Government grant that is not inflation linked for a good part of its income, we appreciate that the Trust have no option but to try to raise more from other sources to compensate. However, increasing the licence fee beyond inflation risks pricing boaters off the system, or simply being unable to pay, which could result in a net loss.

    In response to the options for apportioning the rises across boat licence payers we had some concerns:

    We do not support the proposal to raise licence fees for continuous cruisers above those with home moorings. Firstly, as set out in The British Waterways Act 1995 there is only one Pleasure Boat Licence. Added to this, it is not possible to define continuous cruisers, which is the term used in the consultation. Some boaters never have what might be called a home mooring so continuously cruise all the time, others continuously cruise much of the year then tie up in a marina for the winter, some boaters have home moorings that are not on the CRT system and many other possible combinations.

    The proposal to charge more for continuous cruisers would be an administrative nightmare, open to abuse and highly divisive within the boating community. Dividing the community like this is especially detrimental at this critical moment, when the whole waterways community needs to come together to show Government how our canals and rivers are valued and need to be adequately funded.

    IWA does support the proposal to charge by area, as this would bring it in line with EA registration fees and make Gold Licence administration more straightforward.

    We would like to see CRT achieving a considerable increase in the non-boating income from all those who currently enjoy the waterways and whose benefits will suffer if they deteriorate.

    Looking at the income from CRT’s 21/22 annual report, boating brings in around £24M from licencing plus £20M from moorings and other commercial boating activities. As against this, income from CRT ‘Friends’ has remained constant at around £3M despite the large investment that was put into establishing this support.  

    Alongside this, we will continue to campaign for local and national government to recognise the many benefits including health and wellbeing that the inland waterways provide to a large part of the population and funding them accordingly.

    The benefits freely enjoyed by those local to waterways are the reason for national and local government to help fund the costs of keeping waterways in good condition so the benefits are not lost.

  • Waterways APPG to hear about the role of the waterways in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan

    Waterways APPG to hear about the role of the waterways in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan

    At its next meeting, the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways (APPGW) will be hearing from Heather Clarke (Canal & River Trust’s Director of Strategy) and Eoin Harris (Canal and River Trust’s Head of Environment) on how inland waterways are a key contributor to the Environment Improvement Plan, and from Michael Limbrey (Chairman of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust) about the Montgomery Canal as a practical example. MPs and peers are being encouraged to attend in person while video attendance is available for representatives of waterway organisations.

    Please encourage your local MP to attend the APPGW. It will be held at 9.30 am on Tuesday 28th March. All MPs with waterways in their constituencies will have received an invitation and details have also been made available in the weekly All Party Notices.

    If you represent a waterways organisation and would like to receive an invitation to the video meeting for the event, please email amy.tillson@waterways.org.uk.

  • IWA launches a major campaign to protect our waterways

    IWA launches a major campaign to protect our waterways

    IWA is deeply concerned about the threat to our waterways posed by funding cuts, with for example Canal & River Trust and Scottish Canals financial situations being especially critical. Despite being recognised in the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, the condition of the waterways continues to deteriorate while government funding is decreasing.

    Canals and rivers are valuable assets which can contribute to the country’s economic recovery, help to mitigate the impacts of climate change and enrich the lives of local communities, as highlighted in our #WaterwaysforToday report. Ongoing funding is therefore critical if we are to not only save the waterways for today, but for the future too.

    History tells us that without boats travelling along them, waterways silt up and become dirty rubbish tips. Without proper maintenance reservoirs, aqueducts, and embankments deteriorate, resulting in communities being put at increasing risk of water damage from a failing infrastructure. The added threat of climate change will only worsen the situation as severe flooding and breaches become more commonplace. 

    IWA is calling on national and local government to fund all waterways at a level that keeps them as major assets that can continue to contribute to the economy, peoples’ health and wellbeing, and coping with the climate crisis.

    IWA will:

    • Raise awareness of the threat through national, local, and social media
    • Petition to protect our waterways from the risks funding cuts will create
    • Ensure Members of Parliament and local politicians are fully aware of the benefits of the waterways and the threats to them
    • Arrange high profile events and activities including waterways festivals and towpath stalls
    • Be ready to work with government to offer knowledge and expertise and solutions to improve and maintain our waterways both now and in the future
    • Collaborate with communities and organisations that share our passion for the waterways to widen support for the #ProtectOurWaterways campaign
    • Continue to provide practical assistance in the maintenance and improvement of waterways

    The waterways of today would not exist without IWA who, over many years, ensured that they were saved and enhanced. Millions of hours of volunteer time and effort along with lottery funding have been invested in revitalising the waterway network. IWA will not let that network fall into disrepair again.

    Our waterways benefit millions of people in the country, and it is essential that government continues to invest in them to ensure that these benefits can be maintained and increased.

    To join the campaign and help to #ProtectOurWaterways, visit our campaign page here or contact protect@waterways.org.uk

  • Join the Canalway Cavalcade Committee

    Join the Canalway Cavalcade Committee

    IWA’s Canalway Cavalcade will return to London’s Little Venice for a 40th anniversary celebration between 29th April – 1st May 2023. The event is held annually over the three days of the early May Day Bank Holiday and is a vibrant waterways celebration. London’s Little Venice will be transformed with hundreds of colourful boats, live music, refreshment stands, craft stalls and family activities!  

    Boat bookings are now open for this unique festival – you can book online or download an application form from our website. The Canalway Cavalcade committee are seeking new members and volunteers so please do consider joining the fantastic team behind one of the most successful and best attended inland waterways events in the country.  

    Current vacancies include:  

    • Marketing & Social Media Assistant  
    • Secretary 
    • Site & Services Assistant 
    • Treasurer 

    All roles above require attendance at around 8 committee meetings per year, and the need for general availability during the week to take on duties attributed to the role. You will of course also be required to attend the event too. 

    For more information, or to register your interest in a committee role, please contact Christine Smith – christine.smith@waterways.org.uk. 

    If you are interested in helping out as a volunteer at the event, please complete our contact form here.