- Conference
- 2024 Water, Environment & Transport Conference
- Date
- 8 February 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
This conference notes:
The Canal and River Trust was formed in 2012 from British Waterways, and the organisation and its dedicated workforce has worked hard to remove people’s perception and image of run-down canals. The Trust’s 2000-mile network is close to many people. Canals are not just about boats and boating – the Trust’s strapline is “Life’s better by water” The Trust has reinvented itself as a wellbeing charity.
More and more people are enjoying canals, and the benefits are clear:
• Health and wellbeing for communities including walks, exercise, and social prescribing by GPs. They are also used by fishermen, cyclists, wildlife watchers, somewhere to escape to and relax.
• Volunteers love looking after their stretches of canal.
• Improved economic opportunities for the areas with canals and restoration transformed the towns and villages they go through.
• Flooding reduction – water management, water supply, used for cooling in buildings and heating,
• Important wildlife corridors – supporting biodiversity.
However, in July 2023, the Government announced a reduced grant to the Trust from 2027. This funding reduction is equivalent to £300 million in real terms, and in Canal and River Trust’s own words “will threaten the future of the nation’s historic canals, leading to their decline and to the eventual closure of some parts of the network” press release on website Government funding cuts put future of nation’s historic canals at risk Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)
Currently 40% of CRT income (£80million a year) is spent on maintenance and repair of fragile infrastructure. decrease in the amount of maintenance will result in a deterioration and increased risk of equipment breakdowns and failures.
Staff costs are around half (£100million per year) of the Trust’s expenditure. Reduction in the amount of income will lead to reduced expenditure on staff, reorganization of teams and risk of job losses.
This conference calls to the WETSGE to
• Request members to write to their MP and support the Keep Canals Alive campaign.
• to raise the issue of potential reorganisation and job losses with UNISON at Regional and National level.