Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, it has been necessary to change the date and location of the AWCC 60th Anniversary Rally. This will now be held at Lichfield Cruising Club from Friday 9th August to Sunday, 11th August, 2024. For further details see the Events page. Booking forms for members of AWCC clubs are available from the members area Events page at:
https://awcc.org.uk/members/events.php?year=2024
I am happy to report that after fund raising, T.C.C. has had two defibrillators installed. One is by the main gate to the site and the other is on the blockhouse by the railway bridge. Both use 'What 3 Words' to help emergency services find us. The main gate uses 'senior,learn,space' and the one on the blockhouse uses 'mirror.hike.pulse'
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Date: 12 February 2024
Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) to provide members the opportunity to quiz Navigation Authorities
FBW was launched at the end of June 2023 in response to the inadequate funding and deteriorating state of Britain’s network of canals and navigable rivers. Despite the widespread appreciation of the value of this unique and well-loved national asset and the benefits it delivers, the Government appears intent on significantly reducing its funding. Through FBW more than 110 organisations are campaigning together for national and local government to act now and protect the public benefit and natural capital of our waterways.
FBW’s activities to date have focused on raising awareness of the challenges facing our canals and rivers and the message that increased and sustainable funding is needed. Three well-reported Campaign Cruises were held in 2023, in Birmingham, Gloucester and past the Palace of Westminster on the Thames. In 2024 there will be a weekend of action over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend (4 to 6 May 2024). This will comprise a series of events across the country on waterways managed by different inland navigation authorities, in addition to IWA’s annual Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice in London. It will culminate in a second Campaign Cruise past the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 8 May, when Parliamentarians will be invited to view the event and express their support for the continued maintenance of the waterways.
At the same time as campaigning for increased funding for navigation authorities, FBW recognises the importance of those navigation authorities being able to explain how they are making the best possible use of funds for the waterways. FBW will therefore be holding sessions with major navigation authorities, starting with the Canal & River Trust on Wednesday 10 April 2024.
The sessions will be chaired by FBW and live streamed to FBW members, with a recording and written notes of the meeting to be made publicly available at a later date. FBW members are invited to submit detailed written questions, which will be collated and submitted to each navigation authority two weeks in advance of its meeting. FBW will then ask the questions in the meeting and the navigation authority will provide detailed answers, both in person in the meeting and also in writing.
Les Etheridge, Chair of FBW said “By arranging these sessions we are enabling FBW members to ask questions on any area including those where reservations are publicly expressed. These will be positive and constructive sessions which we hope will benefit both the navigation authority and FBW”
About Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW): FBW brings together a wide range of organisations with the sole purpose of campaigning collectively for an increase in government funding of Britain’s inland waterways to avert their decline, and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental and social well-being value they provide. Established in June 2023, it already has over 110 members representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways.
Contact:
For further information about Fund Britain’s Waterways, or to submit a question for the Canal & River Trust session (by 13 March 2024), contact info@fundbritainswaterways.org.uk
Dear Members and Supporters,
Update on Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) including the public petition and the Westminster Campaign Cruise Tuesday 14th November
FBW continues to bring all those interested in our inland waterways together and is attracting wide public support for its campaign to safeguard the future of Britain’s unique network of inland waterways. This email is to remind all members of the key messages FBW is working to convey and to alert you to next month’s Westminster Campaign Cruise on 14th November which is still open for boat registration.
Now with almost 100 organisations as members FBW is not only seeking an increase in future funding of the waterways managed by the Canal and River Trust and the Environment Agency but also assurance that there will be adequate investment to safely maintain the network, including those waterways managed by smaller navigation authorities. FBW’s key message is that Britain’s inland waterways are a highly valued national asset for all and must be safeguarded for future generations to come. As you know, they are enjoyed by millions of people each year and their associated businesses provide crucial employment for communities up and down the land. However, without sustainable funding arrangements going forward all is being put at risk. Therefore, please continue to use every possible means, including social media channels, to help raise awareness of #FundBritainsWaterways and encourage people to sign FBW’s public petition which is set to soon exceed 50,000 signatures.
Maintaining FBW’s momentum in the run up to the next General Election is essential. It is why we will continue to plan further events for the Spring following next month’s Westminster Campaign Cruise which will build on the recent success of campaign cruises in Birmingham and Gloucester. The November Westminster Campaign Cruise will involve a good variety of boats including narrow boats and working boats. The flotilla will make its way along the Thames from West India Dock to Westminster Bridge for around midday on Tuesday 14th November subject to weather conditions. The boats are expected to hold position for a short time off the Palace of Westminster before returning to West India Dock where all mooring fees have been waived for this campaign cruise. Boats can still register up to 24th October to join the cruise and there are also some spaces left for competent crew.
If you are unable to participate on the water but would like to show you support by joining others on Westminster Bridge that day please contact Frances Phasey on Tel 07734 038 297 who can sign you up to the supporters WhatsApp group. In this way you will be kept fully up to date on the progress of the boats and their expected time of arrival at Westminster. For more details, including on registration and itinerary, please view FBW’s website page: www.fundbritainswaterways.org.uk
With best wishes,
Les Etheridge
Chair
Fund Britain’s Waterways
PRESS RELEASE
Date: 11 July 2023
Fund Britain’s Waterways warns against the government’s latest Canal & River Trust funding offer
After months of waiting for DEFRA to announce its decision on future grant funding for the Canal & River Trust (CRT), and less than a fortnight after the launch of Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW), the Secretary of State has now confirmed that the Government plans at least to continue providing grant funding to CRT beyond March 2027 when the current grant comes to an end. Whilst this is welcomed, FBW members including Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs are deeply concerned that the Secretary of State has only gone as far to offer “over £400m” for the ten-year period from April 2027 which marks a further dramatic cut1. According to CRT it will equate to at least a 40% reduction of funding in real terms compared to recent levels2. The current funding, which has been fixed at £52.6m per annum since 2021, is already failing to keep up with inflation and the physical toll that more frequent severe weather is having on the waterways’ infrastructure.
DEFRA’s offer is simply not enough to avert the decline of CRT’s network, particularly given the charity already faces a deficit of £12 -15m. The grant it receives from DEFRA makes up almost a quarter of its income and is critical in helping it lever in other sources of income and fund its essential maintenance programme. As Richard Parry, Chief Executive of CRT, has said3 the proposed funding cuts from 2027/2028 will have a potentially “devastating impact”.
FBW is campaigning to ensure that beyond this Parliament there will be sufficient grant funding to retain the huge environmental, economic and social benefits that Britain’s inland waterways provide. That includes the 2,000 miles of waterways managed by CRT which alone contribute £6.1bn per year in economic and social value4. It is why, as part of FBW’s broader campaign, it will continue to work with CRT and others to encourage the Government to rethink this week’s funding announcement.
Les Etheridge, Chair of FBW, said: “The Government must take heed of CRT’s warnings. Otherwise, these proposed cuts will result in the closure of waterways, harming businesses and placing communities at risk as the condition of CRT’s waterways inevitably deteriorates.”
Notes to Editors:
1. DEFRA’s Written Statement is available to view at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-07-10/hcws924
2. CRT media release Government funding cuts put future of nation’s historic canals at risk | Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)
3. Ibid
4. “Valuing Our Waterways” (November 2022) published by CRT / Simetrica-Jacobs, with all methodology aligning with 2022 HM Treasury Green Book valuation techniques https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/valuing-our-waterways
About Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW): FBW brings together a wide range of organisations with the sole purpose of campaigning collectively for an increase in government funding of Britain’s inland waterways to avert their decline, and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental and social well-being value they provide. Established in June 2023, it already has over 40 members representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways.
Contact: For further information contact info@fundbritainswaterways.org.uk