Canal Funding Worries
We recently received news of future canal funding from the Canal and River Trust, the body that runs and maintains the waterways, including our home base, the Caldon Canal. They say:
The Government has just announced a long-term funding settlement for the Canal & River Trust for the period from 2027 to 2037, to follow on from the current grant agreement. Whilst the Trust welcomes a further long-term commitment to the nation’s historic waterways, the amount awarded represents a steep reduction in its funding of over £300 million in real terms over the ten-year period.
This presents a serious threat to the nation’s canals. It represents almost a halving of real-terms public funding for canals in the ten years from 2027 compared with recent years. It will lead to a decline in the condition of the canal network and the alarming prospect of canal closures.
This comes despite a Government Review confirming that its funding is ‘clear value for money’, with canals shown to deliver substantial benefits to the economy, to people and communities, and to nature and biodiversity.
CRT say they are disappointed with the decision and are determined to fight to change it, to re-state the case for the funding needed to keep canals alive and to sustain the wide range of benefits they deliver. They have set up a campaign webpage at