Protesters waving banners outside the British Waterways AGM kicked off a major campaign against the Governement’s plans to axe up to £50m from the waterways. And there is much more to follow including convoys converging on Parliament, petitions and mass floating protests.
The cuts are not BW’s making – they result from gross mismanagement of funding in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which has led to a huge gap in DEFRA’s finances and a massive fine imposed by the EU for late payment of farm subsidies. But BW and other bodies with little to do with farming are being made to bear the brunt of the cuts. Almost £5m has already been lopped off this winter’s British Waterways engineering budget – putting much-needed maintenance work on hold and waterways structures at risk – and as the cuts begin to bite, boaters and other canal users are making their views known.
Groups including The Inland Waterways Association, the National Association of Boat Owners and the Residential Boat Owners Association are mobilising their troops, with a series of campaign events planned - the first of which was a protest outside the BW AGM on Thursday March 12th initiated by NABO, asking: “Why is Barry Gardiner, Waterways Minister, not coming to face the music?”
On November 25-26 there will blockades of boats at high-profile public places all over the country including Birmingham’s prestige Mailbox development. On January 16th boats will converge on the Houses of Parliament from all directions, making it clear to MPs how many people care about the canals. And in February, a further series of blockades will be timed to coincide with delivery of a petition to Defra.
