New Canals and Rivers Trust

You may have read the announcement that the new charity for Britain’s waterways will receive over £1 billion of Government funding. The Canals and Rivers Trust, which replaces British Waterways, was set up to manage Britain’s waterways for public benefit and enjoyment; including public access on foot. The Ramblers lobbied hard to make certain that public access to the country’s towpaths and canal side footpaths formed part of the Trust’s charitable objectives, in recognition of the fact that walkers are amongst the biggest group of people to use our canals and rivers.

The Ramblers warmly welcome this commitment to our waterways and the importance of improving public access to our rivers and canals for recreation, health and social wellbeing.

Thank you to everyone who helped us to respond to the consultation, our lobbying wouldn’t have paid off without the information and case studies that you gave us.
We will still be actively involved with the new Canal and Rivers Trust to ensure that access to inland waterways is maintained and enhanced.

If you have any questions on this please contact the Walking Environment team.