British Waterways has moved a step nearer becoming a "mutual" organisation, similar to a charitable trust, after today's budget statement.
The previously-announced proposals are part of the Government's plans to rationalise its many "Arm's Length Bodies".
British Waterways says that the proposals will give communities greater involvement in the running of their local waterways, provide a more stable long-term footing for the network and, over time, reduce costs to the taxpayer.
BW notes that the Budget statement recognises the importance of BW's property endowment in helping to fund the long-term care of the waterways and recommends that it be "charity locked" for the benefit of the network.
The Government proposals states: "at present the favoured option is a charitable trust responsible for managing waterways assets on a long lease with the non-operational property endowment held in a "charity locked" arrangement. However further work is needed to identify the exact form of mutual and the detail of its governance and relationship with government."
BW chairman Tony Hales welcomed the statement, saying: "This is a significant moment in the history of our inland waterways. A mutualised canal network will give the communities that have grown up around the waterways since the 18th Century an increasingly important role in the way they are run in the future.
"The proposal reflects a widely-held, cross-party and stakeholder view that the waterways are a national treasure which should be moved into the third sector if we are to unlock the enormous public support that there is for them. This is a tremendously innovative model for reinvigorating the waterways, it will ensure their continued revival and safeguard against a return to the decline and dereliction which they faced in the last century."
There are more than 600 "Arm's Length Bodies" sponsored by the UK Government, including 152 Service Delivery organisations, some of which are to be merged.
The H M Treasury document "Reforming Arm's Length Bodies" can be downloaded here. Specific mention of BW appears on page 10.
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This is very good news - and I might say quite unexpected. I have been at meetings just days before where people with inside knowledge were saying that the big stumbling block for BW's 2020 Vision was that it depended on getting such key concessions like this from government.
One natural question is how the election will affect this announcement. In January we hosted a meeting that briefed Anne McIntosh MP Shadow Environment Secretary on these issues. On the way to Tuesday's Parliamentary Waterways Group meeting we bumped into Anne and she told us, with a very big smile, that we 'would be very pleased with an announcement that was about to be made by government'. I read that as support from the Conservative party.
The key to this is whether Treasury mandarins have been convinced that this is the way forward. We understand that the idea of selling off the family silver has never had serious support from politicians; it has always been led by civil servants. The risk then is that as a new government sweeps in the civil servants will press the new minister to adopt their pet ideas and we have to start all over again. One hopes that the timing of this announcement and the cross-party support will secure it in the new Parliament regardless of which party wins.
This will give BW's plans to move into the 3rd Sector a big boost. It has already been moving at a remarkable pace since being first announced at their AGM in October.
Our own contribution - which fits neatly into the central message coming out of Waterways for Everyone as well as BW's plans - is the Waterway Watch initiative and you will be hearing more from us on that very shortly. Meanwhile, we urge you to make your thoughts known to us by commenting on our recent blog on the subject.
It is all about giving YOU an opportunity to make your contribution to YOUR waterways.
Cheers
Will Chapman
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