British Waterways

British Waterways
Company typeStatutory corporation
IndustryWaterways
PredecessorBritish Transport Commission
Founded1962
Defunct2012
SuccessorCanal & River Trust
Scottish Canals
Headquarters
Watford
,
England
Key people
Robin Evans (Chief Executive)
Tony Hales (Chairman)
Revenue£176,500,000 (2010/11)
Total assets£676,900,000 (2010/11)
OwnerUK Government
Number of employees
2,000
ParentDEFRA
Websitebritishwaterways.co.uk

British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland and Wales.[2]

On 2 July 2012, all of British Waterways' assets and responsibilities in England and Wales were transferred to the newly founded charity the Canal & River Trust.[3][4] In Scotland, British Waterways continues to operate as a standalone public corporation under the trading name Scottish Canals.

The British Waterways Board was initially established as a result of the Transport Act 1962 and took control of the inland waterways assets of the British Transport Commission in 1963. By the final years of its existence, British Waterways was sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England and Wales, and by the Scottish Government in Scotland.[5]

British Waterways managed and maintained 2,200 miles (3,541 km)[6] of canals, rivers and docks within the United Kingdom including the buildings, structures and landscapes alongside these waterways. Half of the United Kingdom population lives within five miles of a canal or river once managed by British Waterways.[7][8] In addition to the watercourses, British Waterways also cared for and owned 2,555 listed structures[9] including seventy scheduled monuments.[9] A further 800 areas have special designation and a further hundred are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

Through its charitable arm The Waterways Trust, British Waterways maintained a museum of its history at the National Waterways Museum's three sites at Gloucester Docks, Stoke Bruerne and Ellesmere Port. Since the transfer of the assets and responsibilities of British Waterways to the Canal & River Trust, The Waterways Trust in England and Wales has merged with the Canal & River Trust. It continues, however, as an independent charity in Scotland.[10]

  1. ^ Waterways World, December 2011 issue, Article on Canal and River Trust logo
  2. ^ The Committee Office, House of Commons. "House of Commons – Public Accounts – Forty-Second Report". Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Thank you everyone – Canal & River Trust". canalrivertrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Governance – Civil Society". civilsociety.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. ^ "About Us". BritishWaterways.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  6. ^ "British Waterways home page". Britishwaterways.co.uk. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  7. ^ "British Waterways leisure site". Waterscape.com. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  8. ^ British Waterways London Quarterly Newsletter, Summer 2007 Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b British Waterways Heritage Archived 5 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "British Waterways". Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.