THE long awaited announcement from DEFRA concerning grant funding after 2027 has come as a blow.
A dramatic cut
The Secretary of State has now confirmed that the government plans at least to continue providing grant funding to Canal & River Trust beyond March 2027 when the current grant comes to an end, but has only gone as far as to offer 'over £400m' for the ten-year period from April 2027 which marks a dramatic cut.
According to the trust it will equate to at least a 40% reduction of funding in real terms compared to recent levels of the current funding, which had been fixed at £52.6m per annum since 2021, and is already failing to keep up with inflation and the physical toll on the waterways’ infrastructure.
It is understood the offer will not be enough to avert the decline of the waterways, especially given the trust faces a financial deficit of £12 to 15m, and the grant from DEFRA makes up almost a quarter of its income.
Risk of closures
Following today’s announcement from the government, Canal & River Trust is issuing a stark warning that a reduction in grant funding of over £300 million in real terms will threaten the future of the nation’s historic canals, leading to their decline and to the eventual closure of some parts of the network.
The reduced grant from 2027 will almost halve the value of public funding for canals in real terms compared with recent years. This comes despite a Government Review, shared with the Canal & River Trust and expected to be published, confirming that its funding is ‘clear value for money’, with canals shown to deliver substantial benefits to the economy, to people and communities, and to nature and biodiversity.
The reduced funding comes at the same time as the costs of maintaining historic canals are increasing, due to the growing impact of climate change, with more periods of drought and extreme storm events taking their toll on ageing 250-year-old infrastructure.
Will lead to a loss
Richard Parry, Canal & River Trust’s Chief Executive, whilst welcoming the government’s commitment in providing long term support to such a critical national network, warned that, unless a more realistic funding settlement is secured, it will turn the clock back on one of the nation’s greatest heritage regeneration stories and lead to the loss of substantial public benefits, explaining:
“We are tasked by government to care for and manage safely this important and historic infrastructure. Government has confirmed the value and importance of the nation’s canals and their vital role in our health and wellbeing, for wildlife and nature, and in supporting jobs and the UK economy. Yet, at the same time, they have announced a funding decision which puts the very future of canals at grave risk.
“By sharply reducing their investment in the critical work to care for and safely manage this vulnerable national canal infrastructure, the government is failing to recognise the full cost of sustaining the vital benefits they provide. We have ambitious plans for continued growth in income from donations, investments and other funding streams and are also growing volunteer numbers to help with our work. However, even taking these into account, the decision by government leaves a substantial funding shortfall which puts decades of restoration and recovery of these much-loved historic waterways at risk.
“Our industrial canal heritage is as vital today as it was in the past, and will continue to be in the future, by bringing the benefits of green space and nature corridors into urban areas, as well as contributing to flood defences and transferring water to areas of shortage. It is a critical part of our national infrastructure, and its decline would impact communities across the country.”
Potentially devastating effect
He warns the funding cuts will have a 'potentially devastating impact' on the Canal & River Trust’s ability to care for and protect the 2,000 mile of waterways network and its heritage—the locks, reservoirs, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts and embankments.
At a time of increasing costs, the proposed cuts will see the value of public funding for canals reduce in real terms by more than 40%—or over £300 million in total—compared to recent levels.
The Canal & River Trust continues to develop other sources of income, considerably reducing the share of its funds from government when compared with the former publicly-owned British Waterways, now less than 25% of its total income. Even after taking into account ambitious plans to further increase its commercial and charitable income and to grow volunteering, the scale of the reduction in government funding would mean deep cuts to canal maintenance and repair, leading ultimately to canal closures.
Show support
Richard Parry urged people to show their support for the nation’s canals by lobbying their local MP and backing its campaign to keep canals alive at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/keepcanalsalive