Earlier this week it was announced that Campbell Robb will be joining our charity on 6 October, as chief executive, replacing Richard Parry who steps down this summer.
Campbell joins the Trust after six years leading the social justice charity Nacro. Prior to that he headed-up the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, as well as seven years as chief executive of Shelter. Campbell also brings government experience as the first Director General of the Office of the Third Sector, an adviser to HM Treasury, and was previously Director of Public Policy at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
David Orr, chair of our Trustees, comments: “The UK’s navigable canals represent an extraordinary and enduring link to our industrial heritage. Today they play multiple roles, offering communities the chance to engage with nature and boost their mental and physical health, providing essential corridors for wildlife and biodiversity, and even helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. As age, reduced funding, and extreme weather take their toll, our charity’s mission of caring for them has never been more important.
“I am delighted that Campbell will be joining the Canal & River Trust as its new chief executive. He brings a wealth of experience from across the charity sector. I look forward to working with him to secure the longer-term future of our canals.”
Campbell Robb, new CEO
Campbell Robb comments: “The role of chief executive of the Canal & River Trust is one of the most exciting roles in the public and voluntary sectors and one I am delighted to take on. To act as a steward for the history and protect the future of these amazing living monuments will be a challenge, but also an opportunity. I am also committed to the importance of community. In everything I do I wish to support, create and be part of communities. The canals and rivers are vital for those who live there, work there and volunteer there, as well as the wildlife they foster and support. To be part of that and to help them all thrive will be a privilege.”
Campbell Robb replaces Richard Parry, who joined the Trust in 2013, a year after its creation, and who has led the Trust through its critical formative years.
David Orr continues: “I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Richard for the outstanding contribution he has made over the past 12 years. Under his leadership, the Trust has grown into a widely respected national charity. He has steered the organisation through both challenges and successes with commitment and clarity, always championing the unique value of our canal network. I wish him well in his future endeavours.”
If you are at the Crick Boat Show this weekend (full details further below), on Sunday, the show director, Peter Johns, is hosting a Q&A with Richard at 3pm – reflecting on the formative years of the Trust and looking ahead to the future.
Moving ahead on the Macc
Following the breach on the Macclesfield Canal in April, progress is being made to get the navigation open. This includes reaching agreements with neighbouring landowners to gain access to the breach site and then creating an access track and site compound.
This has enabled us to set up onsite, including getting machines to where they’re needed. We’ve also started to get clay and other materials delivered ready for the repair.
Temporary dams and fluming are also in place – the latter allowing a water supply through the breach site to maintain downstream canal levels.
Macclesfield Canal breach May 2025
The next step, as you can see above, has been to create access ramps so that the necessary machines can get to the canal bed and start excavating the leak site.
Once this is done we’ll rebuild the bed and then test it to make sure it is watertight. We’ll also install new trench sheets along the washwall and reinstate towpath surfacing, fencing, hedges and repair damage to the culvert headwall.
Mon & Brec visit ahead of potential Senedd debate
Over 14,000 people have signed a petition to urge the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, to consider the future of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.
As you may know, for 225 years the principal feed of water to the Mon & Brec has been from the nearby River Usk. But changes in legislation, brought in to provide protection for the environment around the Usk, now place strict limitations on the water that can be drawn from it. This made the unthinkable prospect that the canal could run dry when river levels fall a real issue.
We appealed the decision but sadly were unable to change legislation impacting the canal’s water supply. This is because the narrow legal process took no account of the impacts on the canal – despite the economic, social and environmental harm that will be caused. Consequently, we started this year facing the prospect of insufficient water to keep the canal open in periods of dry weather.
Govilon Wharf on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
Thankfully, we've been able to secure and emergency supply of water this summer to keep the canal topped up for boats and for the benefit of local people and wildlife. This is, however, no more than a sticking plaster and a long-term sustainable solution still needs to be found.
This is why the now-closed petition mentioned above is important. Due to the scale of interest – any that reach over 10,000 get reviewed by a Petitions Committee with a view to deciding whether to table it for debate in the Senedd – it reached the Committee just over a week ago.
The Committee commented ‘It's obvious… that there's some great support, significant support for the canal’. Its decision was positive too. Some members will visit the Mon & Brec, at the invitation of the petitioner, to find out more, and the context, before requesting that the subject will be heard as a debate in the Senedd. Watch this space!
Fund Britain’s Waterways takes warning to Westminster
Government was given a reminder about the importance of the nation’s canals earlier this month from waterways campaigning group Fund Britain’s Waterways as it took its message to Westminster.
A flotilla of boats stopped by the Palace of Westminster as the call to safeguard Britain’s inland waterways reached the heart of government. A colourful 26-strong flotilla delivered a clear message to the nation’s policy makers to protect the future of our waterways.
The journey began with the initial group of boats setting off from Strawberry Island Boat Club in Doncaster on 29 March. It was the start of the major campaign cruise to, and beyond, the heart of government, raising awareness and being joined by other boats along the way.
By the time they stopped outside Parliament, the group had operated 172 locks to London.
The flotilla included a pair of working boats, a historic narrowboat, a Dutch barge and privately owned narrowboats from across the country.
United, they sounded their horns to cheers from supporters on Westminster Bridge, drawing the attention of MPs gathered on the Palace’s terrace ahead of Prime Minister’s questions.
FBW on the Thames 7 May 2025
Fund Britain's Waterways
Fund Britain’s Waterways is a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways campaigning to safeguard the future of Britain’s 5,000-mile network of cherished canals and rivers.
This year’s flotilla is being led by Hazel Owen, chair of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs and a member of the FBW steering group, who said:
“Not even broken locks or pollution from a fire closing the Maida Hill Tunnel stood in the way of the 26 boats representing thousands of FBW members getting our message across to the Government that adequate funding is required to save our canals for future generations.
“A big thank you to the staff and volunteers of the Canal & River Trust for the special efforts they made to facilitate the campaign cruise. Thanks to them as well as the hard work of the boaters we were able to reach the Palace of Westminster as planned. We were delighted to be welcomed by parliamentarians and FBW representatives on the terrace and supporters on Westminster Bridge as we sounded our horns and made quite a noise.”
From Westminster, the FBW flotilla continues its journey north and will cross the Wash to the Anglian waterways, continuing to sound its horns and the alarm across the country for the need for investment and support for Britain’s inland waterways. The initial group of boats is scheduled to return to Doncaster in August.
The Canal & River Trust’s view
Our chief executive, Richard Parry, says: “We’ll continue to support FBW and make the case to Government that putting adequate funds into the waterways is of national importance, not just for navigation, but for the Government in achieving its objectives such as health, wellbeing, flood relief and biodiversity.
“We are also exploring other sources of government funding such as for ‘active travel’, for water transfer schemes to use the canals to move domestic water supplies around the country to where they’re needed, as is already being planned on the Grand Union and North Oxford canals, and biodiversity improvements.
“And our fundraising team is working hard to increase donations. From a standing start back in 2012 we now raise around £6 million to £7 million each year. Our ambitious target is to get to somewhere above £20 million per year by the end of this decade.
“The current environment is a challenging one though. We are, like every other organisation, battling rising inflation – even though the national rate has fallen, inflationary pressures continue to push the cost of materials higher at a faster rate.
“Then there’s the increasingly frequent extreme weather events exposing our network to conditions they were never built for. This means we’re spending more each year to just get back to the start line, with a smaller pot to spend, before we can do the works that really improve boaters, and towpath users’, experiences.
“Ultimately, though, it’s our legal duty to meet statutory obligations on safety-critical assets such as reservoirs, tunnels and high embankments with the highest consequences of failure that dictates where we spend first.
“Over the last few years we’ve been spending around £25 million each year on legally-required reservoir works. We’ll get over the bulk of that investment this year and plan to finish the programme within three to five years.
“Aside from the need for more cold hard cash, there are other things we’re doing that will make every penny go that bit further. One of our highest priorities is to preserve the unique heritage of the network but, where we can do things differently without impacting this, we are looking at innovative ideas such as using composite lock gates where heritage is less precious because of existing modifications or changes to its context.
“Our increasing army of volunteers continue to expand the roles they’re supporting us with. You’ll almost certainly have come across volunteer lock keepers, which alongside others, are now also doing more of the basic preventative maintenance tasks. Making locks easier to use, clearing vegetation and so on.
“In summary, there is jeopardy but the fundamental purpose of the Trust is to keep the navigable canal network open and alive. To support this, we would love more volunteers, more boaters sharing their passion for the canals with the public, their MP and to back the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign and other publicity for the cause. It’s absolutely vital that we convince the Government, and public, that the canals cannot be taken for granted.”
A week to give your views
As mentioned in the last edition, we plan-out and prioritise the winter repairs programme so that every penny of spend counts. The first round of consultation for the forthcoming winter stoppage programme ends in one week’s time (30 May).
As a reminder, here’s the timetable for developing the programme:
12 May – draft notices published for feedback
30 May – deadline for submitting comments and notices will be removed from website for amendments (first round)
30 June – revised notices published for more feedback
25 July – deadline for submitting comments and notices, again, removed from website for amendments (second round)
11 August – final winter maintenance programme published
How to search and comment on winter stoppages
Have a look at the list or map to find closures in a particular area. Alternatively, you can enter the first two letters of a particular waterway into the search box to see relevant stoppages. By clicking on the ‘Apply filter’ button (there’s a check box just above this button that let’s you choose to only see stoppages from the proposed winter programme) you can then click on the individual stoppages for more information.
We have made a few changes to the winter works this year, one of them is how we receive your feedback. Please send any comments to [email protected].
We’d love you to comment on as many of the stoppages as you like – your feedback will help shape a successful programme of winter works.
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As you’ll know, there are times when parts of such an old network need unscheduled work to keep them open and navigable. It’s a 200+ year old living, breathing national treasure that takes a lot of TLC. This is why, when something is damaged or breaks, we set about getting it repaired and operational as soon as we can. This means that from time to time we have to carry out repairs outside of our major winter stoppage programme. So below, you’ll find a list of navigations that have ongoing restrictions that may affect you if you’re planning to get out on the water this weekend:
When restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off. You can find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone in this article.
If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.
P.S. When looking at the stoppage notices you’ll probably have noticed that the ways in which you can search for them, and the details of the individual notices have evolved a little. These are changes which we hope improve our overall delivery of this service. We’re always keen to hear what you think so, if you have an opinion on them then do please drop us a line.
375 tonnes hoisted for UK’s biggest inland waterways festival
Busy this weekend? If not, there’s a corner of Northamptonshire that I think you’ll enjoy! Earlier this week, 17 canal boats, weighing up to 35 tonnes each, were hoisted into Crick Marina, near Daventry, as part of preparations for the 25th Crick Boat Show, sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston, which takes place this weekend.
In total, around 40 canal boats will be on display at the show, and 17 of them (with a combined weight of over 375 tonnes) will be craned in for the event.
Boats being craned in for Crick Boat Show 2025 (1)
As well as being the canal world’s biggest marketplace, there’ll be over 200 exhibitors gathering from across the canal world, Crick Boat Show offers a fantastic day out with dozens of boats to view, free boat trips, free boating seminars, live Music Festival sponsored by Aquavista hosting 15 bands and entertainers, dozens of food stalls and a Real Ale & Cider Festival sponsored by LeeSan.
The Show will open from 10am until 6pm on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, And until 5pm on Monday 26 May. For more information visit www.crickboatshow.com or call 01283 742970, Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm.
An alternative…
If you’re unable to get along to Crick Boat Show then another upcoming event might, err, float your boat:
On 8 June there’s a free, family-friendly, summer party being hosted by River Canal Rescue to which all are invited. There’ll be live music, food, drink, crafts and we’ll be there too so pop by for a natter!
The winner and runners-up of RCR’s national story-telling competition will also be announced. You have until the end of May to enter. The first prize is £700 towards a Trust boat licence, runner-up gets £300 in chandlery vouchers and third-place £200. Find out more here.
Mooring is available on the Staffs & Worcs Canal and parking at RCR's Baswich HQ. If you’d like to party with RCR, please register your interest by clicking here, so the team has an idea of numbers.
All proceeds from the day will go to the Stafford Riverway Link – a charity working to connect the Staffs & Worcs Canal with the rivers Penk/Sow, enabling navigation onto Stafford town centre.
Boaters’ access to healthcare – Your voice matters!
Researchers from Keele University want to talk to liveaboard boaters/bargees about their experiences of NHS services, including going to the GP. It wants to gather as much information as possible in order to plan the very best research possible to improve services and access to healthcare.
If you are a liveaboard boater/bargee, you are invited to share your experiences by completing an anonymous online survey. You do not need to answer all the questions. Click this link to access the survey
If you would prefer to email or talk to us about your experiences, or if you would like further information, please contact them at [email protected].
Narrow Escapes
What better way to end an edition than by highlighting a TV programme all about the waterways, including those who look after them (us) and those cruise and/or live on them (you).
Now in its second series, Narrow Escapes is broadcast on Channel 4 on weekdays at 4pm. If you missed the first series you can watch all 20 episodes, and 15 from this latest series, on the Channel 4 website. Here’s a little snippet:
Last Edited: 23 May 2025
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