Who Pays for Waterways?

Who Pays for Waterways? Who should pay? SOW's Will Chapman stresses that we need to keep the plight and opportunities of the waterways in the public eye:

Even before the recession, the navigation authorities have been severely under-funded. Brititish Waterways is short by as much as £30 million a year and, as a result, cannot do even the minimum maintenance required. This is having an effect on the condition of canal assets, such as bridges and locks, dredging canals and maintaining towpaths and the surrounding vegetation.

On top of that, there is an unreasonable expectation from some local authorities who seem to think that vandalism caused by local residents should be cleaned up by the navigation authority rather than themselves. In some areas fly tipping is a major problem, with supermarket trolleys, household furniture, fridges, bikes, tyres, etc. being dumped in the canal and left for BW to remove. BW spends between £8-10 million a year on clearing up after local residents.

Local Groups Can Help, Too
Fortunately, some local authorities recognise their obligations in this regard but it is by no means universal. Credit should also be given to those local organisations like the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society (BCNS) that organise regular cleaning parties of Black Country canals. I think that one of these recently removed 12 supermarket trolleys from a single lock!

If our inland waterways are to survive the long recovery period that will be necessary as we come out of the current recession, we will need more cooperation from local authorities and groups like the BCNS as it is extremely unlikely that any additional support wil be coming from central government (in fact, they have recently imposed yet another cut of £5 million).

Should Users Bear The Costs?
It's not practical to fund waterways by increasing the charges to boaters and anglers - by far the greatest number of users of the waterways use the towpaths rather than the water. Annual surveys by British Waterways show that of 250+ million visits each year, over 95% of those using the towpaths are enjoying a family walk, exercising dogs, etc. and it is generally accepted that they could only be ‘charged’ through their local council.

Cyclists are subject to permits in some areas but these are usually free even though cyclists are amongst the main beneficiaries of towpaths, with many using the towpaths to travel to and from work.

The remaining 5% of users are those who actually make use of the water - boaters and anglers. These users do pay and some would say heavily (an average narrowboat will pay some £500 a year for the right to cruise and probably another £1,000 for mooring all before the cost of fuel etc). Members of angling clubs pay for fishing rights (around a £1,000 a mile I understand) and also pay up to £25 each for a rod license. Businesses that depend on the waterway – marinas, boat yards, boat hire firms, moorings etc. also pay BW for the privilege of having a connection to the water.

All told these charges raise about £20 million per annum from 33,000 boats and an estimated 500,000 anglers. Money from the rod license, which amounts to over £20 million a year, goes to the Environment Agency for maintaining fish stock but doesn't contribute directly to the upkeep of the waterway itself.

Bridging The Funding Gap
The issue for the future is therefore how can the millions who use the waterways cover the £30 million annual gap? It seems unfair - if not self-defeating - to expect those who are already paying to more than double their contribution as they are less than 5% of users. As the vast majority of people who enjoy the canals (and also benefits from the jobs and passing trade) are local residents, then local authorities should take on more responsibility.

Of course, local authority budgets are already hard pressed, but the £30 million shortfall spread amongst the residents of over 250 parliamentary constituencies through which waterways pass (about 19 million people) seems a reasonable return for an amenity that brings a substantial return to the community. An about-to-be-published Government funded study shows a return of £10-15 on every £1 invested in waterways.

It's time for more Local Authorities to wake up to the opportunities that waterways can bring and to be wary of the folly of neglecting these wonderful assets.