The response forms part of a wider plan to improve the experience of boating on the waterways, which also includes more investment in day-to-day navigational maintenance.
The Report
The Report includes 36 recommendations designed to make licensing requirements clearer and improve the management of the waterways. We acknowledge the Report’s findings that the current landscape is not working for many boaters or for the management of the network on behalf of boaters.
Our aims to act swiftly upon the recommendations where possible, noting that some actions will take some time to implement. Many will involve consultation with boaters. A summary of our response to each recommendation will be published in late spring, along with a timetable for engagement and consultation for those it will be consulting on.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of our response is already underway with changes that can be started immediately, including a review of our many communications with boaters to make them clearer, improve tone, and to recognise and understand the varying communications needs of boaters. Options for enhancing welfare support will be outlined, for implementation in Phase 2, and testing of a new Boater App will be underway by the summer. Phase 1 will also include a programme to increase the removal of sunken and abandoned boats on the canal network.
Phase 2
Phase 2 (likely to last until end of 2027) covers recommendations that will involve consultation with boaters and boating organisations. This will include clarification of movement requirements for boats without a home mooring, a review of boat safety and insurance requirements to ensure boats are fit for navigation, and a review of licence fee discounts.
Phase 3
Phase 3 (expected to be 2028 and beyond) will look at changes that would require new legislation. These recommendations are around seeking additional powers to manage the waterways fairly and effectively, including measures to help manage congested areas and new powers around issuing and enforcing licences, while ensuring legal safeguards for boaters. we will engage with boaters throughout, including through formal consultation.
Shining a light on how our waterways are used
Today, we're also announcing a £2 million additional investment in the year ahead to fix leaking locks, tackle overgrowing trees and encroaching weeds and start a phased increase in dredging. We're continuing the investment introduced last year to target broken paddles and fix boater facilities more quickly, bringing the total investment to over £10 million in two years to improve canals for boaters. Boaters can see how we're performing via dashboards on our website.
Campbell Robb, our chief executive, said: “The independent Commission’s Report shines a light on how waterways are used by boaters today. The recommendations offer a chance to reset our relationship with boaters and for us to work together so that boating will continue to thrive on our waterways into the future.
“Alongside this, we’re continuing to increase our investment in the things that we have heard matter most to boaters, spending more on cutting back overgrowing trees, dredging and fixing leaking lock gates. This builds on the measures we introduced last year and, despite the challenges of the extended summer drought and winter storms, we hope boaters are seeing a difference. There’s a huge amount of work to do over the coming months and years, but we are already getting stuck in so that we can improve things for boaters.”
