What of the restorations?

I was absolutely aghast at reading that CaRT is only spending a quarter of what is needed to keep the canals at 'steady state', writes T Lang.

I vaguely remember Allan Richards writing about the shortfall in the past, as CaRT was about to take over from British Waterways, but the infrastructure wasn't too bad then so it did not really register, but eight years later with shortfall after shortfall in maintenance spend, the infrastructure, as all long term boaters will realise, is in a terrible state.

Do little to rectify the situation

This is well proven with canals only too often out of use with stoppage after stoppage, and the miserly, much trumpeted, £45 millions will do little to rectify the situation.

What must however be of great concern to all those people who give up so much of their time to restore the disused canals is what will happen when they are at last completed and handed over to CaRT?

Huddersfield Narrow

Take the £32 millions spent on the Huddersfield Narrow, that is now hardly used, it having stoppage after stoppage as there is so little maintenance.

The biggest restorations of the Chesterfield, Wey & Arun and Montgomery.  All the work by those societies having their results put in the hands of an organisation that is letting its own maintenance fall further and further into the red.

To reiterate Allan Richards, whom I consider your best ever writer:  A report commissioned by British Waterways, only serves to confirm fears that CaRT is untenable, and waterways will continue to deteriorate.

How right he was.