BATTLE lines have been drawn in the fight to save the canals after the government announced a crippling package of cuts that could lead to popular towpaths being closed.

The £300million cut to the Canal & River Trust, which manages a network of canals and towpaths around Westminster, will effectively be slashing its funding in half.

The waterways were transferred out of public ownership a decade ago by the government that has been criticised for abdicating its responsibility for maintaining vital national infrastructure.

Conservative ministers are now saying they have no duty to continue funding the CRT and it needs to start raising its own revenue.

But the cuts will pose an “existential threat to the already underfunded and over-polluted waterways”, according to a coalition of council leaders, who have urged the government to think again.

Signed by nine council leaders including Westminster’s Adam Hug, the letter to secretary of state Thérèse Coffey warns that the CRT will struggle to maintain much-loved stretches of the network including Little Venice.

The letter said: “With rising demand for clean, safe and high quality outdoor public space and essential walking and cycling routes which play an important role in health and wellbeing, especially in densely populated areas, this decision is out of step with public need. Despite the best intentions, the Canal & River Trust lacks the capacity to fully manage issues on London’s canals even before this cut and is reliant on irregular volunteers to clear litter, remove graffiti and otherwise manage these spaces used and valued by so many.”

An increase in boater numbers, including people living on canals due to the housing crisis, will be affected by the cuts.

The CRT has released its own “stark warning” about the “substantial funding shortfall” saying it put stretches of the canal at risk of closure.

CRT chief executive Richard Parry said: “We are tasked by the government to care for and manage safely this important and historic infrastructure. The government has confirmed the value and importance of the nation’s canals and their vital role in our health and wellbeing, for wildlife and nature, and in supporting jobs and the UK economy. Yet, at the same time, they have announced a funding decision which puts the very future of canals at grave risk.”

Les Etheridge, who chairs the Fund British Waterways, said: “The government must take heed of CRT’s warnings. Otherwise, these proposed cuts will result in the closure of waterways, harming businesses and placing communities at risk as the condition of CRT’s waterways inevitably deteriorates.”

Dr Coffey, in a statement, said: “Since it was first created in 2012, as a private charity independent of government, we have been very clear that the trust would have to increasingly move towards alternative sources of funding.

“We have been discussing this with the charity for some time and have been offering support on how it can increase income from other sources, alongside continued government funding, which countless charities across the country do very effectively.

“While there is no obligation for government to fund the Canal & River Trust beyond 2027 I can confirm that, subject to certain conditions being met, government will offer a new long term funding package of over £400million to the trust.”

https://www.change.org/p/fund-britain-s-waterways