Charity appeal launched to pay for canal repairs

A fundraising appeal has been launched to pay for repairs to a canal which suffered a serious breach just before Christmas.

The Canal and River Trust charity said it would cost millions of pounds to fix the damage to the Llangollen Canal and the work could take a large part of the year.

Two narrowboats fell into the breach hole when the embankment, near Whitchurch in Shropshire, failed on 22 December and a third boat was left hanging over the edge.

Work has been carried out to recover the three boats and six others which were left stranded when water levels dropped, and investigators are looking into the cause of the breach.

The trust said it had also been working to make the site safe, install dams and restore water flow, but more needed to be done to restore the canal to its original state.

It said the major works made necessary by the "rare but catastrophic breach" were not something it had planned and it was "incredibly grateful" for the support it had already received from the boating community.

The Canal and River Trust was established in 2012, taking over from the British Waterways public corporation.

Although it receives some government funding to carry out its work, the charity also relies on fees and donations.

Critics have said the level of government support is insufficient to cover the level of maintenance required.

The government agreed to provide a grant to the charity across the first 15 years, amounting to about £740m in total.

It also provided a permanent endowment fund, now worth about £1bn, that generates a further quarter of its income.

Defra said the grant agreement was clear that there was no obligation for the government to fund the charity beyond 2027. However, following a review it has agreed a further 10-year grant funding package of £480m, from 2027.

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