Britain could be hit by flooding due to canal funding crisis.

[Alan de Enfield]

Canals are likely to close and the safety of public communities is being put at risk due to a funding crisis facing England and Wales’ old industrial waterways.

A slash in Government funding for the Canal and River Trust (CRT) has raised fears for the future of the network, which has experienced a renaissance since the 1960s.

 

The chief executive of the charity, Richard Parry, told i funding pressures mean it will increasingly struggle to maintain its essential infrastructure, which is vital for protecting local towns from flooding.

As a result, more “discretionary” work such as opening up new parts of the canal and making stretches more attractive is becoming “difficult” for the trust to “justify”, he said.

 

Meanwhile, boaters say they are being treated as scapegoats for the CRT’s funding pressures after the charity hiked up boat licence fees in a move some of them described as “discriminatory”.

The situation has raised wider questions around how England and Wales’ canals should be funded more than a decade after responsibility for the network was privatised.

The CRT was established as a private charity in 2012 when it took over the responsibilities of the state-owned British Waterways in England and Wales. A separate organisation named Scottish Canals has responsibility for the network in Scotland and remains under state control.

 

When the CRT was first set up, the UK Government agreed to provide the charity with £750m in grant funding over a 15-year period.

But the trust signed a pledge that stated it would become less reliant on Government funding over time and boost its income from alternative sources, such as investments, property income and boat licences.

In July this year the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a new funding package for the trust covering 2027 to 2037, which the CRT says amounts to a steep £300m real terms cut in funding over the decade.

Defra points out that its original grant agreement with the charity stated that no inflationary increase would be applied to its next funding settlement.

But Mr Parry says the drop in funding is too sudden and has “put us on a pathway where decline in the canals almost becomes inevitable”.

“When you think about maintaining canals, it isn’t just a tranquil corridor for nature, it’s the fact that it’s got thousands of significant assets that need to be met and maintained, or else you’re at risk of harming neighbouring communities,” he told i.

He said the charity is responsible for maintaining hundreds of ageing assets, including reservoirs, embankments and culverts, that could pose a real public safety risk if not looked after properly.

The consequences of failing to maintain this infrastructure was evidenced in 2019 when the Toddbrook Reservoir in Derbyshire collapsed, resulting in the evacuation of 1,500 residents of the town of Whaley Bridge.

Mr Parry said the CRT has spent more than £100m on repairs since the incident, a figure that is rising as the charity investigates more of its reservoirs.

He said the decline in funding for CRT means it is likely to get into a “vicious cycle” of the trust spending less on maintenance, resulting in more “failures” that will in turn put more pressure on its funds.

 

Meanwhile, the trust will have to “stop spending on most of the things that actually keep the network attractive and available for people”, he said.

Mr Parry has been unequivocal in his warning that parts of the canal will have to close if the Government does not rethink its decision. He told i decisions are yet to be made as to what parts of the canal that would be.

The CRT has also responded to the Government’s funding settlement by announcing a six per cent rise in the annual licence fee paid by all boat owners using its network from April next year. The charity has made it clear that it will be applying above-inflation increases to the licence fee each year for the next five years.

On top of that, boats that do not have a home mooring are to see a 25 per cent surcharge applied on top of the standard licence fee, which will be phased in over the next five years.

 

Mr Parry said this increase in fees is “regrettably” part of CRT’s response to funding pressures, but some boaters have hit back at the decision, in particular the move to start charging extra to those without a home mooring.

Roughly a fifth of the 34,000 boats using CRT’s waterways are continuous cruisers, meaning people without a home mooring who are required to move every two weeks as part of their licence agreement.

While some boaters have been travelling the network in this way for decades, it has become an increasingly popular way of living in recent years as a growing number of people seek out alternatives to soaring rents and poor housing conditions.

‘It feels like discrimination’

Marnie Woodmeade, 26, has owned a narrowboat with her partner for two-and-a-half years.

The freelance audio producer said she was first attracted to the way of living as “renting is so brutal”, but said it was also a way to “be a little bit closer to nature”.

Ms Woodmeade moved her boat to the London area one year ago and said since then “we’ve been subjected to what feels like being discriminated against for having a boat that moves”.

“It really feels like the surcharge is like a thin edge of a wedge, because there’s so many policies that are just making it slightly harder and harder to live on a boat that moves.”

In addition to new licence fees, CRT has also introduced ‘water safety zones’ that limit where boaters in London can moor, as well as a number of moorings that must be paid for on a nightly basis.

“In Paddington, they’ve introduced visitor moorings, where you have to now pay like £25 a night and that bit of the canal is now empty because people don’t want to and can’t afford to pay,” she said.

Ms Woodmeade said boaters provide a service to the canals, such as organising clean-ups and providing a sense of security to those walking along at night.

She said the surchage risks making the canals more “exclusive” and the boating community losing its “diversity”, with those on lower incomes at risk of being pushed out.

A CRT spokesperson said: “We are bringing the surcharge in gradually to help boaters to adjust, and our welfare support team will assist all those struggling wherever possible – including directing them towards benefits that are often available for those living afloat on low incomes.”

The CRT argues that it is fair these boaters pay more as they use facilities more.

But Marcus Trower, from the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA), said this is just the latest attempt by the CRT to make life more difficult for those without a home mooring.

“We’ve years upon years of attack after attack with examples of them moving us out to put in monetised things instead,” he said.

Britain’s canals have undergone massive changes since the 1960s, with once derelict areas now home to floating restaurants, barbers and nature reserves.

But continuous cruisers fear the ongoing attempts to commercialise the network are threatening their whole way of life.

Despite the current challenges, Mr Parry said he is still a “passionate believer” in the funding model established with the creation of the CRT. All it needs is “Government not to step back too quickly”.

But Mr Trower believes “the only way you can properly fund the waterways is the state”, as he argues it is the only way to have our canals funded by the millions of people that use them, including walkers, cyclists, boaters and holidaymakers.

“Making the major objective of the waterways to be raising money was never going to be a success,” Mr Trower said.

A Defra spokesperson said: “Since the Trust was created in 2012, we have been clear it would have to increasingly move towards alternative sources of funding. We have awarded the Trust a significant £550m in funding and are supporting them with a further £590m between now and 2037.

“We have discussed this with the charity for some time and offered support on how it can increase income from other sources, as per the original objective of the grant funding.”

Britain could be hit by flooding due to canal funding crisis (msn.com)

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

Maybe you’ll get a response if you put it in the “New & Press” section, or maybe if you actually put something interesting on. Mind you the Telly is rubbish, so you may be in luck with a response🎅🎅🎅

[MtB]

7 hours ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

Maybe you’ll get a response if you put it in the “New & Press” section, or maybe if you actually put something interesting on. Mind you the Telly is rubbish, so you may be in luck with a response🎅🎅🎅

 

Are you one of those fools who buy a telly licence given what rubbish gets broadcast these days? I've not had a telly for a decade now and its been GREAT!

 

But I agree with your comment, the OP has nothing to do with boating.

 

Also, nothing to do with flooding. The lock gates downhill of any over-filled pound will just overtop and limit the levels, I reckon. 

 

 

[Puffling]

"The consequences of failing to maintain this infrastructure was evidenced in 2019 when the Toddbrook Reservoir in Derbyshire collapsed, resulting in the evacuation of 1,500 residents of the town of Whaley Bridge."

 

Sloppy journalism. Toddbrook nearly collapsed and the residents of Whaley Bridge were evacuated as a precaution.