All-Party Parliamentary Group - UK Canals and Waterways - Nov 22nd 2022
This isn't a summary of the 2-hour discussion, just some highlights. James Gray (N Wilts) was there & mentioned us. Robert Buckland sent us his apologies.
It was chaired by Sir Robert Syms. Rebecca Powe, the appropriate Minister from DEFRA, attended throughout & took questions & comments. It was relatively well attended – there were over a dozen MPs, mainly Conservative. It was mainly about the Government grant to the CRT, announcement of which has been postponed, giving cause for concern. But they all took a good tour around the benefits of canals & their restoration.
Michael Fabricant, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), opened the debate & said a great deal. He outlined the 2,000 miles of canal in England & Wales (CRT doesn’t cover Scotland) & said that waterways get 800 Million visits / year; 60% of waterways are in deprived areas, through which canals bring visitors from all over the world – and their money. Overall 1 in 8 houses don’t have a garden, so canals offer essential breathing space. He referred to the Conservative Environmental Network Manifesto – ‘Changing Courses’ – which proposes six measures including diverting fines from polluters to restoration of waterway. He mentioned, as though it was news, that Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice.
He listed the benefits of canals, some in specific terms –
- Canals bring water to support 5 million people
- They offer enough heating or cooling for 350,000 homes
- They provide some hydro power
- They are part of the recognised National Recovery Network as part of the UK’s 25-year Environment Plan
- The CRT is the UK’s largest urban blue water provider • Canals bring £4.6 Billion to social welfare
- They bring over £1.5 Billion of economic benefit, including 80,000 jobs
- They host many small businesses, including some on boats – licensed roving traders
- They are a critical part of our national infrastructure
- The CRT alone uses some 700,000 volunteer hours
- Much of the work done, including on restoration, is volunteer funded; Ministers must listen to the volunteers – speaker after speaker emphasized this point in the debate
- The network has over 10,000 structural assets, many of them historic
- The CRT gets only 25% of its funding from the Government – there was much detail debated here.
Prominent in the ensuing discussion was Siobhan Baillie, MP for Stroud, who sang the praises of the CCT, mentioned their Queens’ Award, how closely they work with the Council, their bold ambition etc. She said they’d had £9M of Lottery funding, mentioned their opportunity to take part in water transfer from the wet to the dry side of the country, & invited Rebecca Powe to visit them. Another MP (couldn’t get his name) said the EA must listen to canal volunteers too, & maintained that canal restoration is entirely within the aims & objects of the 2021 Environment Act.
In the discussion, all MPs seem to have ‘got’ the numerous benefits of restoration – at risk of bullet-pointing this to death, they were
- Health & Wellbeing
- Connecting with Nature
- Outdoor recreation
- Traffic-free routes
- Homes for boaters
- Fishing
- Flood protection & management
- Heritage
- Biodiversity – apparently the UK is in the bottom 10% of countries for biodiversity
- Volunteering – including the outdoor gym
- Waterside holidays as well as holidays on boats
- Economic role – sustainable transport but mainly tourism
- Energy generation (heat & hydro)
- Water transfer / security
Rebecca Powe spoke last, emphasising the significant part canals had played in her childhood & adult life. Summing up; she had noted the cornucopia of canals mentioned, but alas not ours. Outlining the canal-related issues DEFRA was working on, she mentioned the electrification of boats & installation of charging points, water security in terms of flood & drought resilience, water transfer citing the Grand Union as an example, specifically mentioning the Montgomery Canal, which has received £16 Million from levelling-up funds, and acknowledged the previously mentioned figure of £4.6 Billion by which the Government benefits from waterways. She acknowledged the delay in the funding announcement & said this would be put right ‘immediately’ .
Michael Fabricant summed up. Overall, the debate was friendly and constructive.
The official transcript of the debate is now available in Hansard
