Funding Boost Will Push Forward Canal Transformation
24 January 2007
British Waterways has welcomed the announcement of an additional £2.445million from the Scottish Executive to fund a range of works which will help push forward the revitalisation of the country's inland waterways.
The new investment, which will be used to fund improvements on both the Highland and Lowland Canals , will help British Waterways and its partners realise the full potential of Scotland 's canals and ensure the network is ideally placed to meet the needs of waterway users for many years to come.
A full work programme has been planned for the coming months with activity including improved boater facilities across all Scotland 's canals, towpath upgrades at key destinations on the Lowland canal corridor and further customer driven developments at Bowling Harbour .
A dredging programme on the Forth & Clyde, Union and Crinan Canals will also be carried out in addition to embankment repairs across the network.
Commenting on the additional funding Steve Dunlop , Director Scotland at British Waterways said: "This is great news for Scotland 's canals. Much has been achieved over the past few years to revitalise the canal network, however, there is still a huge amount of potential still to be unlocked. To do this we must ensure that every penny invested in our inland waterways provides true value for money and goes towards projects that will deliver real and tangible benefits to those living and working across the network.
"There is still a lot of work to be done but with the support of the Scottish Executive and our other partners in the private and public sectors, we can realise the full potential of our inland waterways and create a series of fantastic waterside destinations across Scotland ."
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Issued on behalf of British Waterways by Wave PR. For further information contact Chris Bell , Tel: 0141 303 8390 Mobile : 07974 692 330
Notes to Editors
The new investment will be used to fund the following activity:
Forth & Clyde and Union Canals
Caledonian Canal
Crinan Canal
British Waterways
British Waterways is a public corporation, an organisation owned by the people of this country on whose behalf we manage and care for more that 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England , Scotland and Wales .
British Waterways Scotland
Responsibility for inland waterways in Scotland is a devolved matter, with funding for British Waterways' Scottish activities coming from the Scottish Executive. In Scotland the 137-mile (220km) canal network includes the Caledonian, Crinan, Forth & Clyde, Union and Monkland canals.
British Waterways Scotland works in partnerships with local authorities, voluntary groups, private companies and other government agencies to protect and enhance the waterways and benefit the communities through which they run.
The organisation balances the conservation of the country's heritage and environment with developing commercial opportunities to generate income to reinvest in the waterways for further sustainable regeneration.