An orange sunset glows over a flat view of Caen Hill Locks, with a lock in the foreground and more further away.

People's Postcode Lottery

Since 2012, players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been instrumental in helping us care for and enhance 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales.

Read the video transcript
Hi, I'm Rachel and I manage our partnership with People's Postcode Lottery. And I'm Linda and I help deliver the fantastic program of projects funded by players. We're here on the Grand Union Canal at Braunston to celebrate another year of our partnership.
Since 2012, Players of the Lottery have made a real difference to our waterways by supporting projects that bring nature, heritage, and people together. Now in its fourteenth year, our partnership has provided £24 million for our charity. This amazing support from players is helping us keep our incredible canals alive and thriving.
Thanks to the continued support of players, 2025 will see another exciting program of projects, maintaining vital infrastructure, protecting biodiversity, and inspiring communities. Essential work, like lock and barrage repairs, help ensure our waterways remain safe, functional, and resilient.
Our education program connects thousands of children and young people with the natural world, boosting wellbeing, building skills, and fostering a lifelong curiosity. With a focus on inclusion and local connection, this funding also supports apprenticeships, citizen science, and our national community engagement program, Community Roots. Every supported project helps restore, protect, and share the magic of our waterways for everyone and for generations to come.
Thank you to the players of People's Postcode Lottery for making all of this possible. Together, we're creating a lasting impact now and for future generations.

Preserving our waterways

Thanks to this fantastic support, we’ve been able to deliver vital work that helps us to preserve and transform our historic canals into places where people can spend time, connect with nature and take a break from the everyday.

With £24 million in funding awarded to date, players of People's Postcode Lottery have supported a variety of important waterway and wellbeing projects, with over 230 projects and 35 programmes delivered.

This includes:

Heritage infrastructure works on the Cathedral of the Canals, Anderton Boat Lift and Tees Barrage, as well as vital lock gate replacements, bridge repairs, and reservoir maintenance.
Our Explorer's educational programme
Let's! participation programmes including Let’s Fish
Community Roots - our national community outreach programme
Nature projects
Water Safety
Waterways art
Digitising historic artefacts in our collection at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port

Richard Parry, our former chief executive, said: "We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of People's Postcode Lottery which has enabled us to fund a range of vital projects, helping to realise our vision of living waterways that transform places and enrich lives."

A boat statue created from gold colour materials with blue water in the background

Two men in blue walk away from the camera along the towpath, looking down at geese on the canal to their right

A bridge with a lock attached to it crosses over a small stretch of canal, with grass verges either side

A mother and two young children look at a booklet alongside a Canal & River Trust volunteer, under a gazebo next to the canal

Brent Reservoir sculpture

The Waterway Community Fund

The Waterway Community Fund supports grassroots projects that care for and connect people with our canals and rivers. Thanks to People’s Postcode Lottery players, we’re able to back high-quality projects that enhance local ownership and enrich our waterways.

This year, the Fund is open again. Partner groups, organisations, or Trust volunteers can find full details in our information guide included in the application form.