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NEW REPORT VALUES BENEFITS OF CANAL & RIVER TRUST WATERWAYS


Ray T

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CRT Press Release

 

2nd November 2022

 

  NEW REPORT VALUES BENEFITS OF CANAL & RIVER TRUST WATERWAYS

 

The Canal & River Trust, the charity which protects and preserves 2,000 miles of inland waterways in England and Wales, today, at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Waterways held at the Houses of Parliament, launched a headline report setting out the economic and social value of its 250-year-old waterway network.

 

Presenting the report to MPs, Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, announced that the combined annual economic and social value of the waterways amounts to £6.1 billion.  This includes £1.5 billion annual economic value from water-based tourism and jobs, and annual social value of £4.6 billion, which includes £1.1 billion cost saving to the NHS from active use of the waterways and the towpaths.

 

To quantify the benefits, the Trust worked with social-value experts, Simetrica-Jacobs, with all methodology aligning with 2022 HM Treasury Green Book valuation techniques.

 

Furthermore, the integrity of the canal network’s reservoir dams, embankments and thousands of other historic infrastructure assets also protects homes, businesses and national infrastructure such as electricity sub-stations and utilities. Again, using HM Treasury Green Book methodology, this has a protection value of £42 billion.

 

Richard Parry comments: “This report and analysis captures how the Trust’s work to protect and preserve the nation’s historic canal network delivers positive outcomes for society. These include the value of the canal network in terms of supporting jobs, the visitor economy, and the unique welfare benefits delivered by providing access to nature and the outdoors in urban areas, often in society’s most deprived communities. No other UK charity brings so much free blue and green space to the doorsteps of so many.

 

“However, the nation’s 250-year-old canal network is also old and fragile. Together with government, the Trust bears a huge financial responsibility for the meticulous day-to-day care required to keep this precious network safe and navigable and, in turn, available for society to benefit from and to protect the homes, businesses and critical national infrastructure that runs on or alongside it.

 

“Through championing the benefits of the network for low carbon transport and tourism, sustainable drainage, water transfer and generation of low carbon energy, we can ensure that the next chapter in the history of the waterways sees them help society mitigate the effects of climate change.”

 

The headline report titled Waterways & Wellbeing – Valuing Our Waterways can be downloaded from https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/valuing-our-waterways.

 

Ends

 

For further media requests please contact:

Jonathan Ludford, Canal & River Trust

m 07747 897783 e jonathan.ludford@canalrivertrust.org.uk

 

 

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18 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Glad to see that CRT include this in their remit!

Also "This includes £1.5 billion annual economic value from water-based tourism and jobs" -- meaning hire boats among other things. Not boat owners or liveaboards though, they're obviously of no economic value... 😞

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1 hour ago, IanD said:

Also "This includes £1.5 billion annual economic value from water-based tourism and jobs" -- meaning hire boats among other things. Not boat owners or liveaboards though, they're obviously of no economic value... 😞

Surely boat owners who aren't live aboard are tourists, at least that is what we call caravaners (among other things) up here in the Lakes.  Caravaners are basically only the terrestrial equivalent of boats.

Edited by Jerra
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1 hour ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

I have been told that despite invitations no MP's outside APPG Waterways members joined this meeting in person or via zoom. However, many groups with waterways interests did.

 

Can anyone confirm this?

I was there and both Sir Robert Atkins and Iain Duncan of IWA confirmed this. There did appear to be just two MP's sat at the table apart from Fabricant, (the chair), one of whom did contribute but the sound quality had been very poor throughout so Zoom participants could not hear what was said. There were 99 Zoom participants with more who tried to get in but the organisers hadn't paid Zoom for more than 100 to be able to take part! Minutes will be published.

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6 hours ago, wandering snail said:

I was there and both Sir Robert Atkins and Iain Duncan of IWA confirmed this. There did appear to be just two MP's sat at the table apart from Fabricant, (the chair), one of whom did contribute but the sound quality had been very poor throughout so Zoom participants could not hear what was said. There were 99 Zoom participants with more who tried to get in but the organisers hadn't paid Zoom for more than 100 to be able to take part! Minutes will be published.

 

APPG Waterways currently has 13 members. .All MP's and peers were encouraged to attend in person.

As a means of lobbying , it was a complete flop and rather embarrassing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Heartland said:

How much influence does the All party group have on CRT funding & canal restoration as mentioned as topics for discussion in their April 2022 meeting chaired by Michael Fabricant MP ?

 

Officially, no influence at all.
 

Quote

All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal, cross-party groups formed by MPs and Members of the House of Lords who share a common interest in a particular policy area, region or country. APPGs have no official status within Parliament.


One of the peculiarities of the group is that IWA provides a secretariat function for them and has done so for many years. To what extent IWA (and by implication CRT) dictates APPG Waterways agenda is anyone's guess.
 

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1 hour ago, Heartland said:

How much influence does the All party group have on CRT funding & canal restoration as mentioned as topics for discussion in their April 2022 meeting chaired by Michael Fabricant MP ?

 

At least Michael has an interest in waterways, even if he does wear Boris's old wigs

1 hour ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

One of the peculiarities of the group is that IWA provides a secretariat function for them and has done so for many years.  
 

Must be way better than CRT doing it

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2 hours ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

Officially, no influence at all.
 


One of the peculiarities of the group is that IWA provides a secretariat function for them and has done so for many years. To what extent IWA (and by implication CRT) dictates APPG Waterways agenda is anyone's guess.
 

Certainly they were given much time in this meeting, the presentation after Parry's was all about their latest publication.

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48 minutes ago, wandering snail said:

Certainly they were given much time in this meeting, the presentation after Parry's was all about their latest publication.

Yes, the report has been on IWA's website for a while. I don't expect many will put in the effort to read it because you have to give your email address to request a copy.

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Apart from Fabricant, the only two other MPs were Wendy Morton (short-lived chief whip but genuinely keen narrowboat owner on the BCN) and Heather Wheeler, the magnificently statuesque MP (ministerial status uncertain). This was disappointing, I must admit. I thought the whole point of the APPWG is to get MPs lobbying the govt ministers.

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23 minutes ago, Andrew Denny said:

Apart from Fabricant, the only two other MPs were Wendy Morton (short-lived chief whip but genuinely keen narrowboat owner on the BCN) and Heather Wheeler, the magnificently statuesque MP (ministerial status uncertain). This was disappointing, I must admit. I thought the whole point of the APPWG is to get MPs lobbying the govt ministers.

Not the point of APPWG but certainly the point of this particular meeting, I would suggest. The stated purpose of this group is -

 

Quote

To consider matters relating to navigable (and formerly navigable) rivers, canals, estuaries and lakes in the UK, including the potential social, economic and cultural impact of the regeneration of those waterways and extension of the system.

 

Neither Morton nor Wheeler are current APPWG members although I think Wheeler was some years ago.

 

Surprised Lord German was a 'no show' as he has been an APPWG member for many years.

 

 

 

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I don't know. I will ask Wendy.

But I've just learned of another MP at the meeting: Suzanne Webb, MP for Stourbridge, plus a staffer for another (5th) MP (unnamed) (although no peers). 

I'm told that's pretty good going for the APPWG. One thing I'm personally worried about is all these are Conservative MPs, and it would be good if more opposition MPs attended, to get a cross-party consensus. 

 

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58 minutes ago, Andrew Denny said:

I don't know. I will ask Wendy.

But I've just learned of another MP at the meeting: Suzanne Webb, MP for Stourbridge, plus a staffer for another (5th) MP (unnamed) (although no peers). 

I'm told that's pretty good going for the APPWG. One thing I'm personally worried about is all these are Conservative MPs, and it would be good if more opposition MPs attended, to get a cross-party consensus. 

 

Current membership of APPWG consists of eight Conservative MP's, one Labour MP and three LibDem peers. 

 

It would have been good if some of the group attended in addition to Fabricant ...

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3 hours ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

Current membership of APPWG consists of eight Conservative MP's, one Labour MP and three LibDem peers. 

 

It would have been good if some of the group attended in addition to Fabricant ...

You mean ones with real or no hair?

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