Canal network cuts

The Canal & River Trust has expressed its concern surrounding an estimated £320 million cut in funding from 2027 onwards

Ashley Preece - Local Democracy Reporter | Thursday 17th August 2023 9:26am

A lively narrowboat protest took place last weekend in the shadows of the glitzy Mailbox. Horns were blaring as dozens of boat owners – and anglers – hit out at the government’s intention to cut the Canal & River Trust’s funding by as much as £320 million by 2027.

Birmingham’s canal network adds up to more than 100 miles – which is more than Venice – but, moving forward, passable routes in and out of the city could well be lost due to the millions needed to maintain certain canals, especially those in rundown areas outside of the city centre.

Each canal lock, for example, has to be replaced every 25 years at a cost of £100,000, with 1600 of them among the Birmingham Canal Navigation. A representative of the Canal & River Trust also stressed how climate change is also damaging the canal’s infrastructure, while bridges, aqueducts and towpaths also need to be maintained. It means the more rural and smaller parts of the canal network could be closed off as a result of a lack of investment and funding, sparking concern among boaters and anglers alike.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on what the millions of pounds-worth of cuts to the canal network could mean, a narrowboat owner, who bought his barge three months ago for “a bargain” £26,000, told us: “I haven’t been on the canals for long, I’m just a cruiser. I live in Nottingham and it took me six days to get here in Birmingham. It’s awful. I was stuck in the middle of the lock and, the next day, I got grounded in the middle of the canal and I couldn’t go anywhere.

“A guy in a digger at a scrapyard in Aston had to pull his arm out with some rope on and pull my back end of my boat in because the bottom of my boat was sitting on something [in the water]. It’s a f****** disgrace, all of it.”

The boater, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: “A lot of it makes me think why I bother paying my licence (£1200 a year) which is not a lot. But the [Canal & River Trust] made something like £230 million last year. They’ve just put our licences up 10 per cent and they want to cut our facilities. I get it but I think they’re managing it really badly.

“This is my first morning sitting here [in Birmingham] and I must have seen seven to 10 CRT people – all because they want to keep this area pristine. But if you go one lock down it’s a s*** hole. I’ve got an anchor at the back which I’m using to pull shopping trolleys out. Why aren’t they doing it?

“I’ve spent three months on the canal and it’s been a massive disappointment. I’m here until Saturday, maybe Sunday, and I’m dreading going back [to Nottingham]. It’s not going to be a good trawl back. The locks aren’t even counter-balanced, while a lot of them are open to abuse.

“I mean I went for a shower last night in one of the shower blocks and there’s a guy in there asleep. The facilities, given the cuts that are coming, are only going to get worse. It’s a p***take and it’s only going to get worse because they aren’t maintaining sections. They’ll maintain hot spots because it makes it look great.

“People are coming here and Birmingham, Brindleyplace is a wealthy area. It’s a hotspot. But what you’re doing is giving tourists a site of everything’s well, everything’s great, look how lovely and clean it is. But if you go 100 yards either way, it’s a s*** hole. It’s going to be left to go to wreck and ruin. It needs to be maintained. It’s absolute madness, it really is.”

A short walk across Birmingham and, sitting enjoying the mid-morning sunshine on Brindleyplace, a couple from Rubery, who regularly hire canal boats out from over in Alvechurch, commented: “There was a protest the other day. It’ll mean the canal routes will be smaller, I imagine, because the funding won’t be there to maintain them.

“We got this [narrowboat] from Alvechurch and went towards Hockley Heath, turned around, but we were saying it’s so overgrown compared to what it has been.

“We’ve been on quite a few of these boats over the years and we’ve never seen it as bad. It’s awful. Something’s happening, whether they can’t get the volunteers or there’s no money.”

Responding to concerns surrounding the future of Birmingham and the Black Country’s canals, Richard Parry, Canal & River Trust chief executive, said: “Waterways need funding. They’re 250 years old. There’s thousands of miles now available for people to enjoy in England and Wales and it’s really important that they get the investment they need because it is an investment so they’ll be there for future generations to enjoy.

“They have been such a part of communities for so long. They provide so much economic benefit, social benefit for people in terms of their health and wellbeing and, of course, environmental benefit as well.

“Now we do seek investment income from other sources, but it’s vital we have this partnership with the government on which our future investment depends. Without that commitment from the government, it simply isn’t possible to spend the money on the waterways that they need, so they stay safe for all of the neighbouring communities and for people to enjoy.”

It’s estimated that public funding for the Canal & River Trust will be reduced by five per cent year-on-year, starting at £50m in 2027 and ending at £31.5m in 2037. The trust says it represents a real-term reduction of £320 million over ten years.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said: “We support canals across the country and recognise the benefits they bring to local communities.

“Since the Trust was first created in 2012, we have been clear they would have to increasingly move towards alternative sources of funding. We have awarded the Trust a significant £550 million in funding and are supporting them with a further £590 million between now and 2037.

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

According to the latest figures, 1.75m people in the West Midlands live within one kilometre of the canal network. Some of these could be lost to future generations should Canal & River Trust’s funding continue to be slashed.

Midlands Mayor Andy Street, meanwhile, has vowed to ‘work constructively with both local and national stakeholders to help ensure the unique waterways are preserved in the months and years ahead’.

He said: “It’s often said that Birmingham has more canals than Venice but their importance goes far beyond this famed statistic.

“Our vast and diverse canal network is a remarkable historical inheritance – cherished by the wildlife that exists around them and the local communities that enjoy them today.

“I feel strongly that this very special legacy should be maintained, nurtured and celebrated for generations to come and I’m sure many fellow residents right across our region feel the same.”

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