Staffordshire narrowboat owners' fears over cuts to canal trust

Narrowboat owners in Staffordshire have said budget cuts to the Canal and River Trust will mean higher costs for them which may "price boats off the water".

The trust said it was facing a funding cut of £300m and resources must be found to avoid canals' decline.

The government said it had been discussing new funding methods with the trust.

But narrowboat owners said they needed action soon if they were to avoid costs being passed on to them.

Sam Keay in Kidsgrove, who runs a business from her narrowboat, said she was classed a "continuous cruiser" as she did not have a fixed mooring and already faced paying an extra surcharge brought in by the trust.

"We don't know how much it will be yet but it does mean we will pay extra on our licence fee," she said.

"I think the reasoning behind it is that we use the canal system more than someone who has a mooring.

"I have to disagree with that to be honest because... a permanent mooring [or lack thereof] doesn't dictate how much you're going to be using the canal system in my opinion."

The trust said its reduced grant from 2027 would almost halve the value of public funding for canals in real terms compared with recent years.

John Warrillow, who moors in Stone, said licences were rising in line with inflation for the next five years as well as "penalising" continuous cruisers.

"I would say the Canal and Rivers Trust knew the budget was going to be cut so they should have had things in place to compensate," he said.

"It's what's going to happen in another 10 years when they do get these cuts - they'll price boats off the water."

Simon Hopwood, a freelance engineer, said he sold his boat five years ago as he anticipated cuts and changes to the trust and could also see canals in disrepair.

"I do think there will be stretches of canals that will become permanently closed. They need maintenance and they're not getting it," he said.

A statement from The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "When the trust was established in 2012 it agreed to increasingly move towards alternative sources of funding.

"In line with that agreement we have awarded the trust a significant £550m in funding and are supporting them with a further £590m between now and 2037."

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