Our plan for better boating 2025

Read about our 2025 Better Boating Plan and how it's shaped our ambitious three-year programme, which continues to prioritise navigation improvements and targets issues to make boaters' experiences better.

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Our 2025 Better Boating Plan

You can see our 2025 commitment, individual targets and our final year one position below.

Read the video transcript
Across 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, the Better Boating Plan is delivering real progress. We're focused on improving navigation, reliability, and the everyday experience of boating. Boaters and boating will always be a priority. A new boating committee at board level is now in place, guiding strategy and driving improvements that support more reliable navigation.
The Better Boating Plan has been developed in response to your feedback and through its delivery, we aim to increase boater satisfaction through direct action. We know it's important to get the basics right. We're focused on repairing paddles promptly with 89% of paddle faults fixed within 4 weeks in 2025. We've completed an increased planned preventative maintenance program on locks and moving bridges. We've committed to an ambitious grass cutting program, ensuring grass is cut regularly at locks and mooring sites and that more towpath grass is cut to the water's edge. Delivering an enhanced tree management program, we've cleared 1,288 trees in 2025 and continue to remove trees blocking navigation as quickly as possible.
This wouldn't have been achieved without the support of our Trust colleagues and our brilliant volunteers. We're continuing to improve the standard and reliability of boater facilities, repairing water points and pumpouts swiftly and rolling out new, simpler recycling legislation at all waste sites across the network.
We know communication is key. We've made enhancements to our stoppage notification system and we are continually improving the information provided to make it clear and timely. We're also developing a boater app, which will allow you to report faults whilst on the move. And we're reviewing all of our boating communication touch points to improve content and make it more relevant to boaters needs, including boaters' updates and our dedicated boating social media channels, which have seen great growth and engagement across 2025.
Together we're delivering improvements that matter and as we move into 2026, we will continue to focus and improve on the things that you've told us matter the most. With an updated three-year plan from 2026, building on the essentials you need to boat with confidence. This is the Better Boating Plan in action.

2025 Better Boating Plan headlines and delivery

Our chair, David Orr CBE, will chair a new boating sub-committee of our board that will oversee the implementation of a Better Boating Plan.

Board established and overseeing Better Boating Plan delivery

2. We’ll fix backlog of broken paddles by spring 2026 and repair any new paddle fault within four weeks from April 2025.

323 total paddle faults repaired in 2025
89% of paddles fixed within four weeks
52 paddle repairs carried into 2026

3. We'll target more resources on planned preventative maintenance (PPM) at locks and swing bridges.

100% of programmed PPM tasks complete at locks and moving bridges in 2025

4. We'll spend more delivering improved grass cutting. We’ll ensure more grass is cut at locks and mooring sites and cut more towpaths to the water's edge.

100% of grass cutting programme complete
Over 15,000km of towpaths cut

5. We’ll improve our tree management programme and carry out more surveys, so we can remove more trees over winter and clear those blocking navigation and towpaths.

1,270 trees cleared in 2025

6. If our water, Elsan or pump-out boater facilities break, we'll fix them promptly.

77.7% average first time fix
£4.5m investment over the next five years to standardise and improve reliability

7. We’ll improve bin collections, tackle fly-tipping, and introduce segregated waste across England in 2025.

90% of sites compliant with Simpler Recycling legislation, with outstanding sites in plan
91% of bins emptied on time in 2025
5.9% missed collections due to overflowing bins or fly-tipping in 2025

8. We’ll develop a Boater App to make it easier to report faults whilst on the move.

Technical specification agreed
Developer onboarded – MySociety (FixMyStreet)
Phase one launch on track for 2026

9. We'll improve our stoppage notices system.

Adding photos so that boaters can see the cause of the stoppage and what we're doing to resolve it
Phase one and two of improvement plan implemented in 2025, providing IT system stability and photo functionality
Ongoing improvements to user experience and notice content

10. We’ll enhance communication with boaters by updating our bulletin, increasing social media activity, and offering more opportunities to meet our teams.