Published: 10 September 2026
Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) has responded to an HM Treasury Stakeholder Survey requesting representations to the Autumn Budget 2026, and repeated its call for an urgent review of government funding for the waterways.
This is the latest of several representations to the Treasury by FBW, making the case that our canals and navigable rivers deserve urgent attention as nationally significant environmental, economic and community assets. The infrastructure failures and low water levels of 2026 have made clearer than ever the peril of the waterway network, while the impact on individuals and businesses has demonstrated its importance to local communities.
These waterways are far more than historic infrastructure. They form an extensive network of blue-green corridors that supports biodiversity, climate resilience, recreation, tourism, local businesses, skills, jobs, heritage, public health and community wellbeing. Millions of people benefit from them each year, whether they live, work, boat, walk, cycle, fish or volunteer beside them.
However, this national network is under mounting pressure. Ageing infrastructure, rising maintenance costs, inflation and increasingly severe weather are contributing to breaches, closures, low water levels and damage to locks, embankments, reservoirs and other essential structures.
When waterways decline, the consequences are felt by communities, small businesses, tourism operators, volunteers, wildlife and everyone who relies on them for affordable access to nature and wellbeing. To fund Britain’s inland waterways properly would cost a small (in government terms) investment measured in millions not billions of pounds. In return the country will continue to obtain billions of pounds of benefits for health, economic and environmental benefits, much of the benefits in less well-off areas.
FBW has therefore requested that:
- the importance of Britain’s inland waterways is recognised, as a unique national asset and part of the national infrastructure with the potential to make an even greater contribution
- the need for increased investment is acknowledged, to reverse the deterioration in condition that is already happening and to counter the threats posed by climate change
- a review of government funding for all Britain’s inland waterways is carried out as a matter of urgency, with the aim of defining a sustainable funding solution to enable the current benefits of our canals and rivers to be maintained and enhanced for future generations.
Hazel Owen, Chair of FBW said “Britain’s inland waterways are too valuable to be allowed to decline. Timely government leadership now can help protect their environmental, economic and social benefits for decades to come.”
References
The benefits of Britain’s inland waterways are documented in:
1. ‘Impact Report 2024/25’ published by the Canal & River Trust, November 2025
2. The latest British Marine ‘Economic Benefits’ report (April 2024) which includes:
The combined economic contribution of the inland boating sector and its wider associated tourism generated the UK was £7.6bn in total for the year 2022/23 (the figure includes £1.6bn from the inland marine industry plus £6bn from wider tourism generated by expenditure of those participating in inland boating and other inland watersports on non-boating goods and services such as food and hospitality).
Employment – the inland marine industry provides 41,166 total jobs. In addition, wider tourism associated with inland boating provides 295,886 jobs, so not only does inland boating directly employ over 41,000 people but it also supports almost a further 300,000 jobs through its associated wider tourism.
3. ‘Valuing Our Waterways’ report published by the Canal & River Trust with social value experts Simetrica-Jacobs, with all methodology aligning with 2022 HM Treasury Green Book valuation techniques (November 2022)
4. ‘Waterways for Today’ report published by the Inland Waterways Association (November 2022)
The impact of climate change on the waterways and the adaptations required are documented in:
5. ‘Impact of Climate Change on Asset Deterioration’ published by the Environment Agency, February 2021
6. ‘Our Climate Adaptation Report 2024’ published by the Canal & River Trust, December 2024
7. The Inland Waterways Association Risk Index.
