IWA’s submission sets out five priority recommendations which offer the Treasury low-cost, high-return opportunities to support the Government’s stated priorities of regional growth, devolution, and economic and climate resilience.

Summary of IWA’s 5 Budget recommendations

• Devolve waterway powers and funding flexibility to Metro Mayors, enabling waterway-led regional renewal;
• Commission a cross-departmental review of England and Wales’s inland waterways, producing a long-term investment plan by 2028;
• Establish a national waterborne freight strategy, including expansion of the Modal Shift Revenue Support grant and affordable sustainable fuel¹;
• Fund the repair and resilience of canal reservoirs and feeder channels, protecting tourism revenue and building wildfire-response capacity; and
• Invest in the cultural and recreational heritage of waterways to benefit local economies and widen participation.

Charlie Norman, IWA’s Director of Campaigns and Public Affairs, said:

“Britain’s waterways are already delivering huge value along economic, environmental, and social lines, but chronic under-investment and fragmented decision-making hold them back. Giving Mayors the power to make waterways part of their regional growth strategies would unlock so much untapped potential.

“Modest and targeted intervention now will protect existing economic activity and allow waterways to contribute much more to the Government’s stated priorities for regional growth, devolution and economic and climate resilience.”

The representation from IWA (sent Tuesday, 9th September) comes ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.

¹ See also submission from the IWA Sustainable Boating Group

View our full Budget Representation.

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The Trust recently welcomed the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Kulwinder Singh Johal, aboard Halseyon Days, its wheelchair-accessible narrowboat. The trip was delivered in partnership with Canal & River Trust and gave the Lord Mayor an opportunity to meet passengers, experience the benefits of being on the water and even try his hand at steering.

Baldwin Trust is a delivery partner in ‘Restoring the Soar’, a National Lottery Heritage Funded project led by Leicester City Council in partnership with Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust and Canal & River Trust. The project aims to restore the River Soar while encouraging local communities to connect with and care for their waterways.

The Trust’s accessible boat trips are helping to make those waterways available to more people, particularly those living with disabilities, mental illness, social exclusion or isolation.

Richard Jayes, Acting Chair and Trustee of Baldwin Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Canal & River Trust to bring the experience of narrowboats to more people. Having the Lord Mayor with us to share the day has been superb.”

The July trips were part of a wider programme of activity designed to build community engagement with the River Soar and support wellbeing through access to the waterways.

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The Installing Lithium Batteries for Domestic Power on Pleasure Craft guide has been produced jointly by IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group and the CA’s Regulatory & Technical Services Group. It explains the complexities of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄ or LFP) battery systems and sets out current good practice, providing a practical checklist for boat owners.

Unlike a traditional lead-acid battery, an LFP battery cannot simply be dropped into an existing electrical system. The battery, charging equipment, protection systems and wider installation all need to work together safely.

Bowman Bradley, Chair of IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group, said:

“ Even before installing Lithium batteries, canal boat electrical systems are becoming increasingly complex. Lithium batteries bring a new set of risks, but these can be managed safely, as we manage other risks on boats such as gas and fuel systems.

“This does require the whole system to be considered, not just to drop in a replacement battery. Unfortunately, standards, training and the industry itself are only just starting to catch up with this technology.

“This new guide is an important step forward in advising the ordinary boater about what to look out for to improve the safety and quality of their lithium battery system, whether DIY or professionally installed.”

IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group has been working with the CA to develop practical information that reflects the current state of the technology, while recognising that standards and industry practice are still developing. The original aim was to provide guidance for boaters installing their own LFP systems for domestic or ‘house’ electrical loads. However, the organisations concluded that the understanding of LFP installation is not yet sufficiently mature to provide definitive instructions for amateur installation.

Instead, the guide helps boaters understand the system as a whole and provides questions to ask when specifying, installing, commissioning and maintaining an LFP system. As battery technology develops and more boaters consider alternatives to traditional power systems, having clear and impartial information will become increasingly important. The guide provides a starting point for understanding the technology and making informed choices, whether working with a professional installer or assessing what an installation might involve.

IWA and the CA do not recommend self-installation for the vast majority of boat owners. Anyone considering a switch to LFP batteries should read the guidance before purchasing equipment or starting work, and use its checklist to help inform discussions with a suitably experienced professional.

Download the IWA and CA guide to Installing Lithium Batteries for Domestic Power on Pleasure Craft.

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The Restoration Delivery Plan is intended to set out how the Trust will work with restoration promoters and other partners to deliver the restoration of waterways across England and Wales. As a critical friend to CRT, IWA has engaged constructively with the Trust’s senior management to ensure that restoration receives the support and strategic priority it deserves. 

Through detailed engagement with the Plan, IWA has helped move the document towards a more positive, practical and delivery-focused one that better reflects the ambitions expected of a major national charity. The discussions have also led to improvements in CRT’s internal restoration processes and a better mutual understanding of how restoration activity should be managed across the Trust’s network.  This, however, needs to be matched by restoration groups becoming increasingly professional when undertaking construction work, both onsite and with design and Health & Safety paperwork. 

IWA believes this revised approach should act as a catalyst for raising standards across the restoration movement. Through its technical expertise its recently formed Restoration Delivery Group, new Restoration Panel and Waterway Recovery Group, IWA is well placed to provide the guidance and practical assistance that restoration organisations need to deliver successful projects. 

Waterway restoration is one of IWA’s strategic priorities for 2026, and the Association will continue working with CRT, restoration promoters and other parties to help build a stronger, more professional and more successful restoration sector. 

George Rogers, Chair of IWA’s Restoration Delivery Group, said: 

“The publication of the revised Restoration Delivery Plan is a significant step in the right direction. IWA has worked constructively with Canal & River Trust to strengthen both the Plan itself and the processes that support it, and we are pleased that this engagement has resulted in meaningful improvements. 

“We will continue to engage positively with the Trust and the wider restoration community to support the successful delivery of these shared objectives.”

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The consultation, entitled A379 Bridge Road, Exeter: Bridge Replacement Scheme, runs from 15th June – 27th July 2026. Despite Devon County Council proposing five options for the new bridges at stakeholders’ meetings in October 2025, the consultation presents only one for the public to comment on, which proposes replacing the bridges at a similarly restrictive height as the current bridges.

The Exeter Ship Canal provides a five-mile navigable route between Exeter Canal Basin, in the heart of the city, and the English Channel (via Turf Lock and the Exe Estuary). The two, adjacent bridges carry the A379, a busy dual carriageway, across the canal at its mid-point. Currently, they have exceptionally low air drafts (the clearance between water level and underside of a bridge) which present a barrier to boaters, paddleboarders, cyclists and pedestrians.

IWA representative Ray Alexander said: “Devon County Council appears to be back-tracking on its own Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for the Scheme, which has previously been approved by the Department for Transport. For example, the SOBC identified the potential for cyclists and pedestrians to pass underneath the new bridges if they were built higher, but this significant safety benefit would be lost if they now press ahead without doing so.”

IWA and FESCHH point to numerous opportunities and benefits that raising the height of the bridges could bring to the area’s community, economy and environment. These include:

• Increasing active travel opportunities and safety.
• Enabling sustainable freight use of the canal.
• Increasing business and employment opportunities.
• Reducing pollution and improving the environment.

Ray Alexander added: “At a time when towns and cities throughout the country are introducing congestion management measures and seeking low-carbon transport alternatives, it would be short-sighted to rebuild the A379 bridges at a height that discourages future, environmentally friendly freight opportunities on the canal.”

Ellen Stuart of FESCHH points to the opportunities for boosting business and employment. She said: “Increased use of the Exeter Ship Canal would encourage more visitors to the canal basin, riverside quay and city, boosting existing businesses and creating the potential for new ones.”

Both IWA and FESCHH believe that the consultation is unrepresentative. They say that while the Scheme is entitled a Bridge Replacement Scheme, the consultation contains little information about the five bridge replacement options. Instead, it discounts all options except the one replacing the bridges with an unchanged maximum height and focuses on walking, cycling and public transport measures along the A379 dual carriageway.

Ray Alexander said: “Our engagement with key interested parties and elected representatives has revealed substantial support for the option of raising the height of the canal bridges, including from the Exeter Harbour Board and Exeter MP Steve Race. It is our view that a consultation cannot be considered representative if it effectively dismisses an option that has demonstrated significant public support without presenting the full case both for and against it.”

Ellen Stuart concluded: “The Scheme proposes spending up to £50 million of public money (85% from the Department for Transport) on replacing the canal bridges and associated works. If this investment is to serve Exeter and Devon for the next 60+ years, it should future-proof Exeter Ship Canal for leisure, freight and passenger use, rather than merely reproducing the existing constraints. We should be building for the future, not the past.”

Full Response to Devon County Council Can be found here.

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