2025 opened with a bang on the inland waterways. Sustained heavy rainfall in the North West caused the collapse of embankments on both the Bridgewater Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal on New Year’s Day. Both canals will need complex, lengthy and expensive repairs. The long closures will have a substantial impact on boating and consequently on businesses and local communities.

Together with recent flooding in the region these events highlight the importance of having adequate investment for the maintenance of Britain’s inland waterways to withstand more frequent severe weather episodes. The need for the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign is becoming ever clearer.

What can you do?

Perhaps the only positive aspect of the New Year’s Day collapses is the wide coverage by mainstream media. At one point the drone footage of the Bridgewater Canal was the most viewed video on the BBC website. This is really helping to raise the profile of our waterways and their need for investment in the public’s minds.

But we still need to do more to get the message out that our canals and rivers are already deteriorating and need proper funding.

We need a renewed push to spread the word on social media, to write to MPs and to get signatures on the petition. And in order to do that we need help from YOU, our supporters.

Please keep posting from your organisation’s and/or your own Twitter/X, Bluesky and Facebook accounts with the hashtag #FundBritainsWaterways, and like and share other posts.

Please do also write to your MP in support of the inland waterways, telling them about the benefits of canals and rivers, the threats they face, and the increased funding that is needed – and above all, how many people care about them. Guidance and template letters are available at https://waterways.org.uk/campaigns/waterways-for-today/lobby-your-mp 

THANK YOU for supporting this cause.

(Photo: Breach of the Bridgewater Canal 1 January 2025, by kind permission of @TaylorsAboardaNarrowboat)