Press Release

The Inland Waterways Association Peterborough Branch

www.iwapeterborough.org.uk

3rd March 2007

IWA CAMPAIGN AGAINST CUTS IN GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR WATERWAYS

Boats crowded the moorings at March on the Old River Nene in support of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) campaign against the cuts to funding for British Waterways and the Environment Agency by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The event, which was organized by the IWA Peterborough Branch, was one of many such events across the country to demonstrate how communities use and value their waterways. Waterways are of value not only to boaters but also to every other type of waterway user - walkers, anglers, cyclists, canoeists, rowers, horse riders, runners, environmentalists - along with local businesses who benefit from visitors.

There was a good turn out of boats that attracted much attention from shoppers crossing the town bridge. Although this event was held in the Middle Level, one of the few waterways not immediately effected by the cuts, it is part of the countrywide network of waterways that together are our heritage of our industrial past and a recreational asset for our future.

Photographs are available for publication with articles based on this press release by visiting Photographs for publication.

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NOTES for Editors:

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity, founded in 1946, which advocates the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways for public benefit. IWA has over 18,000 members whose interests include boating, towing path walking, industrial archaeology, nature conservation and many other activities associated with the inland waterways. Information provided by 188 corporate members with their own membership structures has revealed that they, in themselves, have a combined membership of at least 59,500 in support of IWA's voice.

IWA works closely with navigation authorities, other waterway bodies, a wide range of national and local authorities, voluntary, private and public sector organisations to raise funds, lobby for support and encourage public participation. The Association also supplies voluntary labour through its subsidiary Waterway Recovery Group.

More than 500 miles of canals and navigable rivers have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded in 1946. Currently another 500 miles of derelict inland waterways are now the subject of restoration plans.

Further information can be found at www.wrg.org.uk.

Background

For the latest information visit:
www.waterways.org.uk/News/DefraFundingCuts

The government sponsored navigation authorities in England and Wales receive their grant-in-aid from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

Owing to apparent calamitous mismanagement within the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), it has been unable to meet its obligations. This was first realised during March 2006, when the first cut to British Waterways' budget was made. Since then, the Department's financial position has worsened. The department must pay a large fine to the European Union for its failure to make prompt payments to farmers via the Rural Payments Agency. The Department has also incurred substantial overspends in correcting the systems that makes payments to farmers and on some other projects. No further funding is available from Treasury so the Department has decided to cut further the budgets of its responsibilities other than those related to payments to farmers.

British Waterways grant-in-aid for the financial year April 2006 to March 2007 was been cut by a further 7.5% (£4.5 million) in addition to the 5% (approximately £3.1 million) cut that was made in March 2006. (A further cut of 2.5% (£1.5 million) planned for autumn 2006 was not made after strong protests by IWA and others).

Late in the afternoon of 22nd December 2006 (the last working day before Christmas), DEFRA announced its budget allocations for 2007 - 2008 for its sponsored bodies and executive agencies, including British Waterways and the Environment Agency. The figure for British Waterways is £57.55 million, which excludes the grant made by the Scottish Executive for waterways in Scotland, but includes £2.048m for the repayment of a loan from the National Loans Fund (for upgrade of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation), which was agreed under 'Waterways for Tomorrow' six years ago.

The net figure for comparison is therefore £55.5 million, which is similar to 2006 - 2007, after the cuts in funding were made and with no allowance for inflation. BW's original budget for 2006 - 2007 was £62.5 million.

The total funding for the Environment Agency in 2007 - 2008 is to be £661 million, of which the navigation budget is a small amount, which is yet to be decided internally by the Agency. The Department's full announcement is available at www.defra.gov.uk/news/2006/061222c.htm

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