Enhancing Our Waterway Environment

Our heritage and environment team plays an important role in the maintenance, development and enhancement of our waterways, working across all disciplines.

British Waterways is the custodians of a network of waterways that is over 200 years old. The canal’s industrial past has given the network a special character and it is important to reach the appropriate balance between preserving this aspect and promoting a lively and modern network suited to today’s users’ expectations.

In London the network crosses not only many urban areas but also some rural stretches and provides a habitat for wildlife such as bats, water voles, kingfishers and herons. This has been recognised by the designation of the canal as a site of metropolitan importance for nature conservation.

Our team ensures that British Waterways London complies with all the relevant legislations to our field of work and that we liaise with the appropriate stakeholders. We also work towards a more sustainable environment by implementing measures to minimise waste on the network.