Inland Waterways Association
Encyclopedia
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) was formed in 1946 as a registered charity in the United Kingdom
to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development
of British Canals
and river
navigation
s.
Notable founding members included L. T. C. Rolt
and Robert Aickman
.
, vice-chairman, Tom Rolt honorary secretary and Frank Eyre as treasurer. A pamphlet called "The Future of the Waterways" was produced by Rolt and the first action took place in 1947 when the Rolts aboard Cressy challenged the Great Western Railway
who owned the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
and had replaced the Lifford drawbridge at Kings Norton Junction by a "temporary" fixed bridge which prevented navigation. After a question in Parliament by Lord Methuen, the bridge was raised to allow Cressy to pass.
An Inland Waterways Exhibition was organised at Heal's Mansard Gallery in London which was so successful that it was taken on a one month's tour of provincial art galleries.
By now the IWA had attracted a galaxy of talent, including as president, the writer and parliamentarian Sir A.P. Herbert, vice-president the naturalist Peter Scott
and had employed his wife Elizabeth Jane Howard
as a part-time secretary, working in the Aickman's flat in Gower Street
. The council included Lord Bingham
.
In the year 1948 that the canal system was nationalised, a more extensive campaign took place, in August, when the Ailsa Craig was hired for a six week cruise of the northern canals, which included probably the last crossing of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
before its restoration in 2001. The first boat rally and festival was organized at Market Harborough
in August 1950, a meeting place open to boats wide and narrow from south and north of England and off the busier commercial routes. 120 boats and 50,000 visitors attended and this laid the birth of the highly successful rallies that have been a feature of the IWA ever since.
Unfortunately this was overshadowed by a huge row among the organizers. Tom Rolt had resigned as secretary some months before because of pressure of his other work as a writer, though remaining an active member. His next book, The Inland Waterways of England was also due to be published in August, though Rolt claims that it was a coincidence as he did not tell the publisher of the rally that had been organized. Aickman, through Eyre, attempted to prevent Rolt from attending the rally and promoting his book but this only led to the publisher Philip Unwin
also attending. There had been personality conflicts with Aickman which had led Charles Hadfield to resign his position as vice-chairman as early as 1946, and disagreements over policy. Aickman wanted to campaign to keep all of the waterways open,
whereas Rolt had more sympathies with the traditional canal workers and realised that it was necessary to prioritize which canals could be reasonable kept open. Aickman engineered a change to the rules to require all members to conform to agreed IWA principles and in early 1951, Rolt, Hadfield and others were excluded from membership.
(BTC) saw the commercial use of the canal system as its main goal. The country did not have enough money to spend on canal maintenance let alone restoration. The canals, particularly the narrow system, had become inadequate for modern commerce and slowly dropped into disuse.
Early attempts at involvement in saving a canal, when the Basingstoke Canal
had come up for sale in 1949, were flouted when a canal committee set up to save it saw their contributions used to support a private bid from their nominated bidder.
A more hopeful start was made on the lower reaches of the Warwickshire Avon, a river where commercial navigation had long since been stopped because of perennial flooding problems so it was not part of BTC's remit. Learning from the experience of the Basingstoke Canal, the IWA advised the formation of a charitable trust and Douglas Barwell who had joined the Midland's branch with this in mind, took charge of the project of restoration.
Local campaigns emerged with the threats to various canals, including the Oxford
and Kennet and Avon. An all-party parliamentary committee was set up with 30 sympathetic MPs becoming honorary members of the IWA. A fight to save the Stroudwater Canal was lost in Parliament, although 112 MPs voted against it.
In March 1955 a Board of Survey reported and recommended the downgrading and possible disposal of 771 miles of waterway parts including some like the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, that had already been abandoned and closed to traffic. In response, IWA advocated a National Waterway Conservancy to look after all the waterways and pointed out that it is cheaper to restore and use waterways than to eliminate them. A non-party parliamentary petition was also organized. Slowly opinions were moved so that by the autumn when the annual BTC bill was placed before parliament, the measure did not include the announced measure and the chair of BTC told MPs that he regretted that the board had not had a more independent basis.
The campaign to save the Kennet and Avon Canal
intensified. A group supporting its restoration had set up independently after the argument within the IWA but were now brought back within the IWA by the chairman Lionel Munk who was to form a crucial part in the campaign and a trust was set up. A 22,000 signature petition to the Queen was brought from Bristol by water, though parts of the canal had to be traversed by canoe to get it through. In March 1956 a clause in the BTC bill to close the K&A was defeated.
A new committee of enquiry was set up and the IWA invited, amongst others, to give detailed plans for the viability of the different waterways, which put considerable strain on an organisation which didn't at the time have any permanent staff and whose financial affairs were in some disarray. Christopher Clifford, a JP
made the presentation. At this stage another dispute arose within the organisation when Aickman pushed to seek incorporation as a company limited by guarantee
. At the time there was no chairman of the council, as Aickman had been persuaded to keep only the position of Founder and Vice-President after the last crisis, and he himself was ordered to rest by his doctor at this time. Although the motion was eventually passed, several branches broke away from the organisation.
. The prospect of a connection from the Severn
through to the Midlands was in sight when the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
was threatened with abandonment
In 1958 a wealthy businessman member named John Smith, who had an honorary post in the National Trust
suggested that it might take over the canal. Another enthusiastic member, David Hutchings, took over the task of restoration after the National Trust agreed a five year lease on the canal a year later pointing out that the cost of filling it in would be £120,000 whereas the cost of restoration was only £40,000, and completed it on time despite the extremely cold winter of 1962-3. The reopening coincided with the 400th Annniversary celebration of Shakespeare's birth at Stratford-upon-Avon and the Aickman accompanied the Queen Mother
in a much-publicized narrow boat trip to reopen the canal into the river as part of a large festival that included 200 boats outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
.
The experience of restoration led to the creation of the Waterway Recovery Group
at the 1970 Guildford IWA Rally
by Graham Palmer as an independent charity to act as a co-ordinating force, providing equipment, expertise, publicity and labour to help local restoration schemes.
They organised week-end and longer work camps where students and older folks could get dirty doing practical restoration work and were involved in many projects, including saving the Peak Forest and Ashton canals from closure, work on the Kennet and Avon Canal, the barge lock on the Droitwich Canal
and many other flying visits.
Board) as the commercial use of the canals was declining rapidly.
People from Aickman to Hadfield (who now joined the BWB) had argued that the canals should be run by a trust such as the National Trust, but the new body faced the same commercial pressures as its predecessors. The Transport Act 1968
showed a new commitment to amenity use, but waterways were put into three classes: commercial, cruising and remainder. One casualty of this was the Kennet and Avon which has never been lifted out of the bottom category for which only essential maintenance was available. The act also removed the statuary right of navigation for these canals.
The period of the 70s and 80s are characterised as "three steps forward, two steps back" by David Blagrove.
The restorations and growth in the leisure boat industry were offset by multitudes of other problems with closures of canals, tunnel failures and the breakdown of the Anderton lift
. However the attitude of BWB gradually changed from scepticism to a more friendly attitude to the organisation.
The completion of the restored Kennet and Avon Canal in 1990 and the availability of lottery funding from 1994 opened up new possibilities. The membership, which had steadily expanded during the previous decades, settled at around 20,000 and the attendance at the annual rallies and festivals kept their popularity.
IWA is organised into regions, each of which consist of several branches.
The regions are: East Midlands, Eastern, London, North East & Yorkshire, North West & North Wales, South East, South West & South Wales, and West Midlands.
The current National Chairman is Clive Henderson, and the National Deputy-Chairmen are Les Etheridge, Roger Squires and Vaughan Welch.
The Association is governed by a Board of Trustees; among its members are the actor David Suchet
and Sheila Suchet.
The main committees are Finance, Navigation, Restoration, Promotions and Communications, Waterway Recovery Group, Inland Waterways Enterprises Limited, IWA Festivals Division, Inland Waterways Freight Group, IWA Committee for Wales, and Essex Waterways Limited.
The IWA membership in 2010 is over 17,500.
The Association works closely with United Kingdom navigation authorities
including British Waterways
and other waterway bodies, a wide range of national and local authorities, voluntary, private and public sector organisations.
IWA is engaged in fundraising
, lobbying
for support, and encouraging public participation. It also organises conferences
for waterways societies
, e.g. on how to obtain funding.
The Association also supplies voluntary labour through its subsidiary, the Waterway Recovery Group
.
It is a registered charity
, number 212342.
Through these efforts, more than 500 miles of derelict and unavailable canals and river navigations have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded. Another 500 miles are currently the subject of restoration plans. However, the Association believes there is still much to do.
Ltd, whereby IWA will be responsible for the navigation in perpetuity. The Chelmsford Branch of the IWA worked closely with the C&BNCo from 1994 until it went into administration
in August 2003.
IWA has formed a subsidiary company, Essex Waterways Ltd. and, with support from local authorities, will operate and maintain the river navigation for the benefit of the general public. This is the first time that IWA has taken full operational and maintenance responsibilities for a navigation.
These regularly attract large numbers of boats and visitors and have extensive exhibitions. For example, the rally at Beale Park in 2006 on the Thames above Reading had 600 boats and 28,000 visitors.
The Campaign rally has been an integral part of IWA activities since its inception. Bringing a large number of boats to a particular waterway highlights the difficulties of navigation and has kept a number of waterways open that would otherwise have closed.
In the past, the annual festival often had campaigning as one of its functions, but the number of boats attending makes many desirable venues impracticable. So, together with campaign rallies held by particular regions, a national campaign rally was established in 2006 to highlight the continued need for this activity.
Annual event
over the early May Bank Holiday
weekend, combining a Boat Rally with a trade show, activities and entertainments.
on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development
Green development
Green development is a land use planning concept that includes consideration of community-wide or regional environmental implications of development, as well as site-specific green building concepts...
of British Canals
Canals of the United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
and river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
s.
Notable founding members included L. T. C. Rolt
L. T. C. Rolt
Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford...
and Robert Aickman
Robert Aickman
Robert Fordyce Aickman was an English conservationist and writer of fiction and nonfiction. As a writer, he is best known for his supernatural fiction, which he described as "strange stories".-Life:...
.
The early years
The Association was sparked off by a letter sent by Robert Aickman to Tom Rolt following the publication of Rolt's highly successful book, Narrow Boat in 1944 describing the declining and largely unknown world of the British canals. The inaugural meeting took place on 15th Feb 1946 in London, with Robert Aickman as chairman, Charles HadfieldCharles Hadfield (historian)
Charles Hadfield was a canal historian and the author of many classic works on the British canal system, mostly published by the firm he co-founded, David & Charles.-Biography:...
, vice-chairman, Tom Rolt honorary secretary and Frank Eyre as treasurer. A pamphlet called "The Future of the Waterways" was produced by Rolt and the first action took place in 1947 when the Rolts aboard Cressy challenged the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
who owned the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal...
and had replaced the Lifford drawbridge at Kings Norton Junction by a "temporary" fixed bridge which prevented navigation. After a question in Parliament by Lord Methuen, the bridge was raised to allow Cressy to pass.
An Inland Waterways Exhibition was organised at Heal's Mansard Gallery in London which was so successful that it was taken on a one month's tour of provincial art galleries.
By now the IWA had attracted a galaxy of talent, including as president, the writer and parliamentarian Sir A.P. Herbert, vice-president the naturalist Peter Scott
Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
and had employed his wife Elizabeth Jane Howard
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Elizabeth Jane Howard, CBE is an English novelist. She was previously an actress and a model.In 1951 she won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for her first novel, The Beautiful Visit...
as a part-time secretary, working in the Aickman's flat in Gower Street
Gower Street (London)
Gower Street is a street in Bloomsbury, Central London, England, running between Euston Road to the north and Montague Place to the south.North Gower Street is a separate street running north of the Euston Road...
. The council included Lord Bingham
George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan
George Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan MC , known as Lord Bingham from 1914 to 1949, was a British peer, British soldier and Labour politician....
.
In the year 1948 that the canal system was nationalised, a more extensive campaign took place, in August, when the Ailsa Craig was hired for a six week cruise of the northern canals, which included probably the last crossing of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
before its restoration in 2001. The first boat rally and festival was organized at Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
in August 1950, a meeting place open to boats wide and narrow from south and north of England and off the busier commercial routes. 120 boats and 50,000 visitors attended and this laid the birth of the highly successful rallies that have been a feature of the IWA ever since.
Unfortunately this was overshadowed by a huge row among the organizers. Tom Rolt had resigned as secretary some months before because of pressure of his other work as a writer, though remaining an active member. His next book, The Inland Waterways of England was also due to be published in August, though Rolt claims that it was a coincidence as he did not tell the publisher of the rally that had been organized. Aickman, through Eyre, attempted to prevent Rolt from attending the rally and promoting his book but this only led to the publisher Philip Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
also attending. There had been personality conflicts with Aickman which had led Charles Hadfield to resign his position as vice-chairman as early as 1946, and disagreements over policy. Aickman wanted to campaign to keep all of the waterways open,
whereas Rolt had more sympathies with the traditional canal workers and realised that it was necessary to prioritize which canals could be reasonable kept open. Aickman engineered a change to the rules to require all members to conform to agreed IWA principles and in early 1951, Rolt, Hadfield and others were excluded from membership.
Stemming the flow
During most of the 1950s the IWA was fighting in an era when the British Transport CommissionBritish Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
(BTC) saw the commercial use of the canal system as its main goal. The country did not have enough money to spend on canal maintenance let alone restoration. The canals, particularly the narrow system, had become inadequate for modern commerce and slowly dropped into disuse.
Early attempts at involvement in saving a canal, when the Basingstoke Canal
Basingstoke Canal
The Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....
had come up for sale in 1949, were flouted when a canal committee set up to save it saw their contributions used to support a private bid from their nominated bidder.
A more hopeful start was made on the lower reaches of the Warwickshire Avon, a river where commercial navigation had long since been stopped because of perennial flooding problems so it was not part of BTC's remit. Learning from the experience of the Basingstoke Canal, the IWA advised the formation of a charitable trust and Douglas Barwell who had joined the Midland's branch with this in mind, took charge of the project of restoration.
Local campaigns emerged with the threats to various canals, including the Oxford
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
and Kennet and Avon. An all-party parliamentary committee was set up with 30 sympathetic MPs becoming honorary members of the IWA. A fight to save the Stroudwater Canal was lost in Parliament, although 112 MPs voted against it.
In March 1955 a Board of Survey reported and recommended the downgrading and possible disposal of 771 miles of waterway parts including some like the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, that had already been abandoned and closed to traffic. In response, IWA advocated a National Waterway Conservancy to look after all the waterways and pointed out that it is cheaper to restore and use waterways than to eliminate them. A non-party parliamentary petition was also organized. Slowly opinions were moved so that by the autumn when the annual BTC bill was placed before parliament, the measure did not include the announced measure and the chair of BTC told MPs that he regretted that the board had not had a more independent basis.
The campaign to save the Kennet and Avon Canal
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...
intensified. A group supporting its restoration had set up independently after the argument within the IWA but were now brought back within the IWA by the chairman Lionel Munk who was to form a crucial part in the campaign and a trust was set up. A 22,000 signature petition to the Queen was brought from Bristol by water, though parts of the canal had to be traversed by canoe to get it through. In March 1956 a clause in the BTC bill to close the K&A was defeated.
A new committee of enquiry was set up and the IWA invited, amongst others, to give detailed plans for the viability of the different waterways, which put considerable strain on an organisation which didn't at the time have any permanent staff and whose financial affairs were in some disarray. Christopher Clifford, a JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
made the presentation. At this stage another dispute arose within the organisation when Aickman pushed to seek incorporation as a company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
. At the time there was no chairman of the council, as Aickman had been persuaded to keep only the position of Founder and Vice-President after the last crisis, and he himself was ordered to rest by his doctor at this time. Although the motion was eventually passed, several branches broke away from the organisation.
Canal restoration
In Warwickshire, work on the Lower Avon was nearing completion after a decade of hard work and it was confirmed that nobody owned the rights to the upper reaches which led to Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. The prospect of a connection from the Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
through to the Midlands was in sight when the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal...
was threatened with abandonment
In 1958 a wealthy businessman member named John Smith, who had an honorary post in the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
suggested that it might take over the canal. Another enthusiastic member, David Hutchings, took over the task of restoration after the National Trust agreed a five year lease on the canal a year later pointing out that the cost of filling it in would be £120,000 whereas the cost of restoration was only £40,000, and completed it on time despite the extremely cold winter of 1962-3. The reopening coincided with the 400th Annniversary celebration of Shakespeare's birth at Stratford-upon-Avon and the Aickman accompanied the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in a much-publicized narrow boat trip to reopen the canal into the river as part of a large festival that included 200 boats outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
.
The experience of restoration led to the creation of the Waterway Recovery Group
Waterway Recovery Group
The Waterway Recovery Group , founded in 1970, is the national co-ordinating body for voluntary labour on the inland waterways of the United Kingdom.-Activities:...
at the 1970 Guildford IWA Rally
by Graham Palmer as an independent charity to act as a co-ordinating force, providing equipment, expertise, publicity and labour to help local restoration schemes.
They organised week-end and longer work camps where students and older folks could get dirty doing practical restoration work and were involved in many projects, including saving the Peak Forest and Ashton canals from closure, work on the Kennet and Avon Canal, the barge lock on the Droitwich Canal
Droitwich Canal
The Droitwich Canal is a synthesis of two canals in Worcestershire, England; the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal. The Barge Canal is a broad canal which opened in 1771 linking Droitwich Spa to the River Severn at Hawford Mill, Claines...
and many other flying visits.
A new order emerges
The government set up an Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee in 1961 to consider the future of canals that were not considered viable. Two of the IWA stalwarts, John Smith and Lionel Munk, were included on this, together with Tom Rolt. This went against Aickman's slogan of "fighting for every mile" although shortly after this he admitted privately to Lionel Munk that he was now a "90% man". Requests for closures came in thick and fast from British Transport Waterways (soon to separated from the BTC as the British WaterwaysBritish Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
Board) as the commercial use of the canals was declining rapidly.
People from Aickman to Hadfield (who now joined the BWB) had argued that the canals should be run by a trust such as the National Trust, but the new body faced the same commercial pressures as its predecessors. The Transport Act 1968
Transport Act 1968
The Transport Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
showed a new commitment to amenity use, but waterways were put into three classes: commercial, cruising and remainder. One casualty of this was the Kennet and Avon which has never been lifted out of the bottom category for which only essential maintenance was available. The act also removed the statuary right of navigation for these canals.
The period of the 70s and 80s are characterised as "three steps forward, two steps back" by David Blagrove.
The restorations and growth in the leisure boat industry were offset by multitudes of other problems with closures of canals, tunnel failures and the breakdown of the Anderton lift
Anderton Boat Lift
The Anderton Boat Lift near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in north-west England provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal....
. However the attitude of BWB gradually changed from scepticism to a more friendly attitude to the organisation.
The completion of the restored Kennet and Avon Canal in 1990 and the availability of lottery funding from 1994 opened up new possibilities. The membership, which had steadily expanded during the previous decades, settled at around 20,000 and the attendance at the annual rallies and festivals kept their popularity.
Organisation and governance
The regions are: East Midlands, Eastern, London, North East & Yorkshire, North West & North Wales, South East, South West & South Wales, and West Midlands.
The Association is governed by a Board of Trustees; among its members are the actor David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
and Sheila Suchet.
The main committees are Finance, Navigation, Restoration, Promotions and Communications, Waterway Recovery Group, Inland Waterways Enterprises Limited, IWA Festivals Division, Inland Waterways Freight Group, IWA Committee for Wales, and Essex Waterways Limited.
Main activities
The Association works closely with United Kingdom navigation authorities
Navigation authority
A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river.-Rights of a navigation authority:...
including British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
and other waterway bodies, a wide range of national and local authorities, voluntary, private and public sector organisations.
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
, lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
for support, and encouraging public participation. It also organises conferences
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
for waterways societies
Waterway society
A Waterway society is a society, association, charitable trust, club, trust or "Friends" group involved in the restoration, preservation, use and enjoyment of waterways, e.g. a canal, river, navigation or other waterway, and their associated buildings and structures, e.g...
, e.g. on how to obtain funding.
The Association also supplies voluntary labour through its subsidiary, the Waterway Recovery Group
Waterway Recovery Group
The Waterway Recovery Group , founded in 1970, is the national co-ordinating body for voluntary labour on the inland waterways of the United Kingdom.-Activities:...
.
It is a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
, number 212342.
Through these efforts, more than 500 miles of derelict and unavailable canals and river navigations have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded. Another 500 miles are currently the subject of restoration plans. However, the Association believes there is still much to do.
IWA as navigation authority
In November 2005 IWA signed a maintenance and operating agreement with the Administrator of The Company of Proprietors of the Chelmer & Blackwater NavigationChelmer and Blackwater Navigation
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in Essex, in the east of England. The navigation runs for from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to the sea lock at Heybridge Basin near Maldon. It was opened in 1797, and remained under the control of...
Ltd, whereby IWA will be responsible for the navigation in perpetuity. The Chelmsford Branch of the IWA worked closely with the C&BNCo from 1994 until it went into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
in August 2003.
IWA has formed a subsidiary company, Essex Waterways Ltd. and, with support from local authorities, will operate and maintain the river navigation for the benefit of the general public. This is the first time that IWA has taken full operational and maintenance responsibilities for a navigation.
IWA National Festival
Every year, the Association organises the IWA National Festival & Boat Show which is run entirely by volunteers on behalf of IWA.These regularly attract large numbers of boats and visitors and have extensive exhibitions. For example, the rally at Beale Park in 2006 on the Thames above Reading had 600 boats and 28,000 visitors.
IWA National Campaign Rally
In the past, the annual festival often had campaigning as one of its functions, but the number of boats attending makes many desirable venues impracticable. So, together with campaign rallies held by particular regions, a national campaign rally was established in 2006 to highlight the continued need for this activity.
Annual event
- 2009, Kiveton Park, Chesterfield CanalChesterfield CanalThe Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
- 2008, "Monty '08", Theme: Montgomery CanalMontgomery CanalThe Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...
restoration - 2006, Basingstoke CanalBasingstoke CanalThe Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....
IWA National Trailboat Festival
Annual event- 2009 Moira, Ashby Canal, LeicestershireLeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
- 2008 Grand Western CanalGrand Western CanalThe Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands End...
, DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with... - 2007 Grantham CanalGrantham CanalThe Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797, and its profitability steadily increased until 1841...
- 2006 Lancaster CanalLancaster CanalThe Lancaster Canal is a canal in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria...
- 2005 Chesterfield Canal
- 2002 Chesterfield Canal
IWA Canalway Cavalcade
Annual event since 1983, organised by IWA at Little Venice, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
over the early May Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
weekend, combining a Boat Rally with a trade show, activities and entertainments.
Plaques
Two plaques commemorating the 1945 meeting which led to founding of the IWA stand at Tardebigge Top LockTardebigge Locks
Tardebigge Locks or the Tardebigge Flight is the longest flight of locks in the UK, comprising 30 narrow locks on a two and a quarter mile stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire...
on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal
Worcester and Birmingham Canal
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long....
.
See also
- List of navigation authorities in the United Kingdom
- List of waterway societies in the United Kingdom
- British WaterwaysBritish WaterwaysBritish Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
- David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
- Charles HadfieldCharles HadfieldCharles Hadfield may refer to:* Charles Hadfield in the north of England in the 19th century* Charles Hadfield of the canals in the 20th century...
- Crick Boat ShowCrick Boat ShowThe Crick Boat Show and waterways festival is organised by British Waterways.The show takes place every year on the Grand Union Canal at Crick Marina on the last bank holiday weekend in May....
- Inland Waterways Protection SocietyInland Waterways Protection SocietyThe Inland Waterways Protection Society was founded on the 21 April 1958 by the late Mrs Bessie Bunker of Sheffield, who became its Secretary....
(IWPS) (in the UK) - NarrowboatNarrowboatA narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
- HorseboatingHorseboating SocietyThe Horseboating Society is a national society, with the primary aim being the preservation and promotion of Horseboating on the canals of Great Britain...