Fears over cash cuts to waterways
Friday 16th April 2010, 11:29AM BST.
Shropshire and Mid Wales canal enthusiasts are calling on election candidates to safeguard waterway funding following cash cuts.
The Inland Waterways Association has written to every candidate saying there is already a £30 million shortfall each year in the money British Waterways needs to keep the canal network running safely.
“It is inevitable that the waterways’ infrastructure will slide into poor condition, even before any further cuts are enforced by an incoming government on the mistaken impression that the waterways are peripheral and therefore can be given low priority,” the letter says.
Shropshire branch president Michael Limbrey said that the grant from DEFRA to British Waterways had already been cut by nearly 17 per cent to £47.8 million which was not enough to keep the canal system safe.
He said: “Our new MPs must do all they can to protect our waterways for the future.”
The Shrewsbury, District and North Wales branch members will be campaigning for more funding at the Norbury May Day Canal Festival, which has been organised by the Shrewsbury & Newport Canal Trust, to be held on May 1 and 2.
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