About Fund Britain's Waterways (FBW)

Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) is a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways. It has been set up in response to the threat posed to our canals and rivers by inadequate funding. FBW has come together to campaign to persuade national and local government to ensure that the benefits provided to the public do not continue to be eroded.

Responsibility for managing Britain’s 5,000 miles of navigable inland waterways is fragmented between more than 30 major organisations and numerous smaller ones, including the Environment Agency and Scottish Canals, Broads Authority, Middle Level Navigations and the Canal & River Trust. Today the entire network is at risk due to significant underinvestment.

The value of Britain’s inland waterways was demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic and is acknowledged in Defra’s own Environmental Improvement Plan. They are widely understood to provide levelling up, economic, environmental, health and wellbeing benefits for us all. The combined annual economic and social value of CRT waterways alone has been quantified as £6.1bn, including cost savings of £1.1bn for the NHS from active use of the waterways and towpaths – leveraged from current government investment of only £52.6m per year. Despite greater understanding of their value, and the deteriorating state of the infrastructure today, the Government has significantly reduced its funding for the waterways.

FBW is campaigning to ensure that the government provides sufficient grant funding to retain the huge environmental, economic and social benefits that Britain’s inland waterways provide. All the donations raised will go into a restricted fund held by The Inland Waterways Association and used solely to contribute towards Fund Britain's Waterways campaign costs.