The EA may close rivers to navigation on ‘health and safety’ grounds because it can’t get money out of Defra for their maintenance. Three locks in the region are already closed with EA admitting that it is unable to reopen them due to current funding restraints.
The IWA has issued a strong warning that potential long-term closures of Environment Agency waterways in East Anglia will be resisted by waterway users, having seen documents that reveal the EA is prepared to make long-term closures of navigation assets. The EA admits that this is the inevitable consequence of its underfunding problems, which the IWA has been campaigning about for many years.
An IWA campaign to prevent the government agency ignoring its legal obligation to maintain navigation rights on much of its Anglian network has already resulted in nearly 200 letters or emails to MPs and local authorities in EA’s Anglian Region. Anyone who uses EA navigations for boating, livelihood or recreation is advised to contact their local constituency MP about these concerns (even not actually living near an EA waterway) and to ask for the matter to be raised with the Waterway Minister, Therese Coffey MP. People living on or near EA Anglian Region navigations are also encouraged to write to the leader or person responsible for environment at their local councils, at district and county or unitary level.
The IWA considers it only a matter of time before further navigation assets are closed, potentially on waterways that are well used and provide links or through routes to other waterways, a situation that IWA regards as unacceptable. The Anglian Water Act 1977 provides a Right of Navigation on most of these waterways and IWA considers that EA cannot not simply ignore its legal duties.
Les Etheridge, IWA national chairman, said “Whether or not EA’s waterways are transferred to CRT, these navigations need to receive increased funding from Government in order to halt the progressive deterioration that is currently taking place. IWA’s wish to see the EA navigations transferred to CRT has always been conditional upon sufficient funding being provided and threats of closure to currently navigable waterways are simply unacceptable. Waterways provide far too much to the nation in terms of health benefits, recreation and regeneration for this to be a sensible option and we must not allow it to happen. Now is the time for boaters to make their voice heard and we need your help. If you live near, or boat on, any of the EA Anglian waterways, please write to your local MP and the relevant local authority in order to make them aware of your concerns.
Letter templates for sending to MPs and Local Authorities can be found on the IWA campaign page.
