EXCLUSIVE

CANAL PROTESTORS MAKING WAVES

20-11-2006

Hundreds of protestors are expected to take to the canals and towpaths around Birmingham next weekend in a televised protest against cuts of £9 million facing British Waterways.

Narrow boat owners have been getting that sinking feeling after discovering that BW'sbudget is beingslashed by around 15% - and all because it happens to belong to the Department for Food and Rural Affairs which cocked-up a new EUsubsidy system for farmers.

Late payments mean that Defra now has to pay millions in fines and interest, and it's the canals which are taking the hit. It's also been reported that British Waterways' Birmingam office is being shut, leading to the loss of more than 60 jobs.

Ivor Caplan from the boat owners' pressure group the Inland Waterways Association told The Stirrer that his members will cruise around the city centrenext Saturday afternoon with banners, before a larger gathering on the canal outside the BBC's Mailbox building at noon on Sunday to be screened by The Politics Show.

It's expected that up to 100 boats will turn out, with hundreds more supporters lining the towpath.

“Defra have got themselves into this mess and it's no fault of British Waterways” said Caplan, who is spending the winter moored between Dudley and Tipton.

“The message we're trying to get across is that this affects everyone, not just boat owners.

"The people who'll lose out are walkers, cyclists, people who want to study industrial heritage, drinkers just enjoying the pubs around Brindley Place, and families who want to take their families to see the boats pass by.”

Unlike many government agencies, British Waterways actually enjoys a good reputation among the people who rely on it. Canals, which once served the region so well, had been neglected for many years but it's recognised that huge improvements have been made over the last decade or so.

The problem is that the infrastructure is 250 years old, so unless BW has the funds to be proactive, tunnel collapses and embankment breaches are likely to occur more frequently - and will be more costly in the long runwhen they do.

Brindley Place in Birmingham is the model of canalside regeneration, and there have been attempts (or planned attempts) to copy the blueprint in Walsall and Smethwick.

If you want to show your support, just turn up at 12 next Sunday at the back of the Mailbox.