The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has today set out new plans to create one of Britain’s biggest charities to secure the future of more than 4,000 kilometres of canals and rivers in England and Wales.

The Government announced last year that the publicly-owned inland waterways, currently managed by British Waterways and the Environment Agency, should in future be managed by a new charity. The Government said this would secure the waterways’ long-term, sustainable financial future by enabling the new body to access new sources of income and greater public support, and give local people a greater say in their upkeep.

 Ministers have now launched a consultation seeking people’s views on the new charity and proposals including:

• a governance model to foster local engagement and ownership;
  the charity’s constitution; and
  improving the long-term financial sustainability of the waterways.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:

“Our inland waterways are important pieces of heritage, havens for wildlife, and vital for leisure, recreation, health and well-being – enjoyed by millions of boaters, anglers, walkers and cyclists.

“We want to unlock the true potential of the waterways, so that they are valued and enjoyed by even more people. Creating a new charitable body for waterways will give people the chance to have a greater say in the running of their local canal or river.”

The Government intends to transfer waterways to the charity subject to a special trust, which will be set out in a Trust Declaration requiring the waterways to be protected for the public’s benefit, in perpetuity. The Government proposes that the Trust Declaration should include free access to the towpaths will be protected.

Subject to the passage of the Public Bodies Bill, the new charity is expected to be created in April 2012.

British Waterways is a public corporation responsible for approximately 3,000 km of waterways, of which about three-quarters are canals. The Environment Agency manages almost 1,000 km of waterways, most of which are navigable rivers. The two bodies are responsible for around 75 per cent of the 5000 km of waterways in England and Wales.

Howard Pridding, Executive Director, British Marine Federation, said:

“The British Marine Federation, as the representative body of the leisure marine industry, supports the concept of British Waterways transforming into a civil society organisation. We are keen to seize this opportunity to place our canals and navigable rivers on a sustainable footing for the years to come and believe that this model can ensure that the vital service and maintenance responsibilities are retained at a sustainable level. The BMF will be actively involved during the consultation process on behalf of waterside businesses to ensure that issues important to industry and tourism, including maintaining navigation, levels of service and the industry’s role in governance are fully considered”

Clive Henderson, Inland Waterways Association national chairman, said:

“I welcome that the Government shares our vision that there should be a sort of ‘National Trust’ for the waterways. We have been asking for this since the middle of the last century and we are in no doubt that this is the right way forward for the management of Britain’s inland waterways. With the right governance this can lead to real, tangible, community engagement with all the benefits that this approach can deliver. Local ‘ownership’ of waterways will incentivise more volunteering and over time will bring new funding to the waterways.

“This consultation document has been eagerly awaited. We will consider the proposals with great care and will aim to support the Government in getting the process right so that we can all look forward to a sustainable future for the waterways.”

The consultation, which runs until 30th June, is online at www.defra.gov.uk/consult/waterways-1103/.