It is made up a wide range of projects including repairing masonry and brickwork, fixing leaks, replacing over 100 lock gates and delivering a range of running repairs to dozens more.
These works often involve temporarily draining canals and stopping boats and we do this during the quieter winter months (despite the short days and the harsher weather) to minimise disruption in the warmer summer months when demand for using the network is at its greatest.
Vital programme of major works
In addition to the more familiar canal maintenance works, we are also continuing a vital programme of major works to improve reservoir safety and strengthen the resilience of high-risk embankments, culverts and other significant historic structures.
All those who use and enjoy the waterways network will be aware that the pressures it faces are as great as they ever have been. Whilst the pioneering canal engineers from 250 years ago delivered a network that has stood the test of time, they would never have imagined how their canals would be playing such an essential role in our society today – for people's leisure and recreation, supporting local economies, a haven for wildlife and nature, and enhancing the health and wellbeing of millions of people. They equally couldn't have known how severe the impact from a changing climate would be. The network today plays an important part in the nation's water and utilities infrastructure as well as in protecting communities. But more frequent and intense extreme weather events – heavy rainfall and droughts alike - are exposing the network's vulnerability.
Impact of climate change
This expanded work programme is facing rapidly rising costs, often increasing by more than the headline inflation figures. Conversely, many of the Trust's income sources are growing more slowly and our annual Government grant, which is fixed with no allowance made for inflation over the period to 2027, is therefore reducing significantly in real terms. Beyond 2027, it now seems very likely that the Government will seek to reduce its annual grant contribution, piling further pressure on the resources available to look after the network in the longer-term.
Whilst we are fortunate to have growing numbers of fantastic volunteers and active partner groups, and our funds benefit from generous donors, there is a growing gap between the resources we have available and the cost of giving the whole network the care and attention it requires whilst also meeting all of our legal obligations.
As the charity that cares for this historic network, we are committed to, and intensely focussed on, our core mission to keep the network operational, safe and available for people and boats, for today and for future generations.
Difficult choices ahead
But that means that there are difficult choices ahead; as a stand-alone charity, we have to work within the funds we have available. We have a substantial endowment but that delivers a vital long-term income stream and has to be conserved if the waterways are to have a secure future. So we can only do the work we can afford within the available funds and that means we have to prioritise carefully and be both innovative and efficient in delivering our work, seeking to find ways to save costs and raise funds wherever possible.
Even before we finish this year's programme of winter works, colleagues at the Trust are looking further ahead, putting in place plans and prioritising where we target our work for next winter and beyond whilst we also look hard at how we can do things most efficiently. We are clear that the core spend on the infrastructure, the work that maintains the basic fabric of the waterways, is the priority; the canals themselves are the foundation on which all the benefits – whether for boats, communities, people or wildlife – are built; without that, the nation's canal network would once again fall into a cycle of decline, become neglected and derelict.
Come together for our wonderful waterways
Whilst we continue to do our best to deliver the service you expect, we need the wider canal community to come together to make the case for a sustainable future for our waterways and, in particular, to secure the funds that it needs. In the meantime, some of the difficult choices we will be forced to make, to ensure our funds stretch as far as possible, may not be popular, but we will continue to act in the long-term interests of the waterways and the people who benefit from them. We're grateful for all the support you give and urge you to continue to support us in speaking up for our vital waterways.
