The restoration of much of Britain’s vast canal network has been a notable and uplifting success story. Originally saved in the 1960s from Beeching-style closures by Labour’s transport secretary, Barbara Castle, many of these formerly working and polluted waterways have become modern urban oases.
Otters, kingfishers and dragonflies can be glimpsed along the 100 miles or so of Birmingham’s canals. In Manchester, barge users and walkers can trace the origins of the Industrial Revolution along intersecting routes that crisscross the city. Across the country, canalside regeneration has transformed urban landscapes, partly enabled by the thousands of unpaid volunteers who rescued abandoned channels from dereliction and paved the way for Castle’s vision of “leisureways” to become a reality.
Environmentally rich, historically fascinating and a source of human wellbeing, thriving canals should be a treasured feature of our greener future. The government, however, appears to have other ideas. Having previously frozen funding for the Canal & River Trust (CRT) – the charity that in 2012 took over the management of 2,000 miles of state-owned canals – ministers now plan cuts of over £300m to its finances, beginning in 2027.
As the CRT is forced to seek alternative sources of cash, this shortsighted decision will stretch resources beyond breaking point. Volunteers already have to be relied on for clean-up work and other tasks, and trust leaders have said that the sharp reduction in funds will put at risk “invaluable natural habitats, historic infrastructure and cherished public spaces”. Some canals, they warn, may have to close. Last week, a group of council leaders wrote to the secretary of state for the environment, Thérèse Coffey, noting that large stretches of London’s network will be affected, including Little Venice.
There are many good reasons to want to see the back of this government, but one of the most emotionally compelling is its distaste for the kind of public infrastructure that makes life better for people. It remains to be seen whether ministers will choose to ignore the overwhelming opposition to plans to close railway station ticket offices. But their apparent willingness to endanger the spectacular renaissance of the country’s canals is evidence of the same ideological blind spot: the modern Conservative party just doesn’t understand the value of public goods.
A 2019 report, Waterways in Progress, published by the Inland Waterways Association, memorably describes Britain’s canals as “a linear national park”. Among other case studies, the authors highlight the social and economic benefits delivered by the restoration of a five-mile stretch of the Chesterfield canal, in which a former lock-house now hosts a cafe, a meeting room, shower facilities and a play and picnic area. Much of this was made possible by Whitehall money released as part of the Community Assets programme.
This is the kind of reimagining of waterways that Castle – a boat enthusiast who regularly travelled on the Rochdale canal – foresaw. Noting their potential for leisure use in the Transport Act of 1968, she established public bodies to promote “cruising, fishing and other recreational purposes” on the canals. Five decades on, the progress has been remarkable. The government has a responsibility to ensure that it is maintained, rather than undermined by funding cuts deeply at odds with the spirit and direction of the times.
