Canal & River Trust reports record year for volunteering - 2017/18 Annual Report & Accounts published

[Ray T]

CRT Press release

 

26 July 2018

 

Canal & River Trust Reports Record Year For Volunteering

-2017/18 Annual Report & Accounts published-

 

The Canal & River Trust has published its 2017/18 Annual Report & Accounts charting a further year of progress for the new charity, which cares for 2,000 miles of historic inland waterways in England & Wales.  In particular it has been a record year for volunteering on the waterways with active volunteers now significantly exceeding the number of employees as they help the Trust to deliver its charitable objectives as a Trust for the waterways and wellbeing.

 

In addition to volunteers clocking-up more than 600,000 hours, with a remarkable 96% satisfaction rate, the overall condition of the Trust’s waterways continued to improve year-on-year with core spending on waterway infrastructure, maintenance and repairs rising to almost £132 million.

 

Richard Parry, chief executive, comments: “We have seen another strong year as the Trust works towards its vision of transforming places and enriching lives.  Our continued growth in volunteering complements and enhances the vital work that our experienced and skilled colleagues deliver.

 

“Our work across the network has been underpinned by an increase in the number of boats together with strong investment and income performance which now sees the Trust generate more than £150 million each year in addition to our £50m Government grant.  This means we can continue the underlying increase in spend on the care and repair of our waterways.”

 

The success in volunteering is in addition to community ‘adoptions’, and this year the Trust reports 225 community groups working alongside the charity with local people participating in the care of their local stretch, introducing their creative ideas and taking pride in where they live.

 

This year’s Report also details the work underway by the Trust to rigorously evidence the wider benefits of waterways to society, including their benefits for wellbeing which will be critical for the organisation’s approach in the years ahead.

 

Chairman Allan Leighton said: “Our waterways have a very special place in the public’s affection, but we need to instil a greater belief in their value to us all today, to reach out and connect with a wider range of people, to convince them of the need to extend their support to the Trust, so that the waterways will be cared for in perpetuity.

 

“As the Trust adapts its structure and aligns itself better to deliver more effectively at a local level, I’d like to thank our outgoing founding Trustees and the original Partnership Chairs who step down this year, as well as all our partners, supporters, volunteers and staff as we continue on this exciting journey.”

 

Highlights in the 2017/18 Annual Report & Accounts include:

• Volunteering exceeding 600,000 hours, with 96% satisfaction amongst the Trust’s volunteers
• 225 community adoptions, empowering local people to get involved
• An improvement in the overall condition of the waterways and a rise to £131.6 million in core spending on waterway infrastructure, maintenance and repairs
• Strong investment performance which, together with our sources of income, generated over £200 million
• A rise in boat numbers to over 34,000 with the lowest ever licence evasion
• A 15% growth in Friends to 24,000 with donations up to £6.1 million, including from players of the People’s Postcode Lottery
• A further reduction in unplanned closures to navigation
• An improvement in towpath user satisfaction with 372 million visits to the Trust’s waterways and visitors to the Trust’s museums up 39% to 48,000
• Engagement with 80,000 children through the Trust’s Explorers education programme
• Green Flag status awarded to 160 miles of waterways
• Publication of the Trust’s Outcomes Measurement Framework to capture and quantify the benefits that waterways and the Trust’s work make to society
• A relaunch of the Trust’s brand position to reach new audiences and better reflect the ambition to be a charity for the waterways and wellbeing

 

To view the Trust’s 2017/18 Annual Report & Accounts visit: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/annual-report-and-accounts

 

The Trust will be holding an Annual Public Meeting on Wednesday 26 September at Austin Court, Birmingham.  Places are limited, so to register your attendance visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canal-river-trust-annual-public-meeting-2018-registration-47463532704

 

-ENDS-

 

For further media requests please contact: Jonathan Ludford, tel: 020 32044420 email: jonathan.ludford@canalrivertrust.org.uk

[Movin' on]

Hmmmmm...............a record year for volunteering and a record year for closures ..........

[pete.i]

Just now, Halsey said:

Hmmmmm...............a record year for volunteering and a record year for closures ..........

What exactly are you trying to say. Or are you just generally whinging which is a trait of this forum. Maybe you should try volunteering rather than whining.

[Movin' on]

Not whinging at all just trying to go boating as I have done for 52 years - my point is that there aren’t enough professional time served knowledgeable staff on the water any more and that volunteers are seen as a replacement which they are not.

 

Just come out of Leicester to the 2 mile pound above Newtown Lock and we have had some of the worst 2 days cruising we have had in years 

 

This is not because it’s a hot summer but is due to lack of maintenance keeping the water where it needs to be - plenty of water here now

[mayalld]

21 hours ago, pete.i said:

What exactly are you trying to say. Or are you just generally whinging which is a trait of this forum. Maybe you should try volunteering rather than whining.

Why should he try volunteering?

 

It is clear that record numbers of volunteers haven't achieved anything in terms of keeping the canals open.

 

We have record levels of volunteer satisfaction, and boater satisfaction going through the floor.

[Alan de Enfield]

22 hours ago, Halsey said:

Hmmmmm...............a record year for volunteering and a record year for closures ..........

Are you sure ?

Apparently, according to the report :

'the overall condition of the Trust’s waterways continued to improve year-on-year with core spending on waterway infrastructure, maintenance and repairs'!

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Are you sure ?

Apparently, according to the report :

'the overall condition of the Trust’s waterways continued to improve year-on-year with core spending on waterway infrastructure, maintenance and repairs'!

Which is easy to say if sat in an office,  slightly more difficult if actually out and about on a boat.

[Athy]

23 hours ago, pete.i said:

What exactly are you trying to say? Or are you just generally whinging which is a trait of this forum. 

I don't think he was "generally" whingeing. His complaint was quite specific and, if reports from around the system are to be believed, justified.

As for "whingeing" (a rather loaded word) being a trait of this forum, if we all felt that the inland waterways system was perfect in every way, discussions on CWDF would be awfully boring.

- "I say, the canals are perfectly looked after and in apple-pie order".

- "Gosh yes, they certainly are".

If we see something wrong which we feel should be improved, we say so. That is perfectly acceptable, and often indeed desirable.

[Sea Dog]

I was talking to the area volunteer manager on the Marple Flight who, incidentally, was both knowledgeable and helpful (and he got us through!), but had received a lot of abuse from boaters over the closure - customer facing roles attract that I suppose. Anyway, he had a box full of new local volunteers for the Marple, but can't train or use them for obvious reasons.  Doesn't really matter if the numbers are a record or not if many of them are not achieving anything, does it?

[Alan de Enfield]

23 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Doesn't really matter if the numbers are a record or not if many of them are not achieving anything, does it?

Yes it does matter - C&RTs DEFRA grant is dependent on achieving certain KPI's

 

There is a KPI for Volunteer hours.

2016/17 was 540,700

Target for 2017/18 was 600,000, and not surprisingly they achieved 613,000 hours.

 

Interesting that 'Boater satisfaction' fell from 76% (2016/17) to 70% 2017/18)

 

"Number of days of unplanned navigation closures within our control" (individual instances over 48hrs) Budget was 400, but was actually almost 25% higher at 490

(It will be interesting to see what next years figures show)

 

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Yes it does matter - C&RTs DEFRA grant is dependent on achieving certain KPI's

Ah yes, of course, then I should perhaps have said it makes little difference on the ground. 

 

I understand the game a bit since my wife was involved in a similar function for the National Trust. It's the way these things work. I do think they should have spent the first couple of years as the Navigation Authority getting used to running the waterway and understanding the challenges of their real estate before having to diversify to attract funding. The genie is out of the bottle now though, eh?

[Sea Dog]

Does anyone know if there's a map or similar showing where and when we might expect to find volunteers? 

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Does anyone know if there's a map or similar showing where and when we might expect to find volunteers?