Waterways Trust to merge with new charity

IT WAS announced this afternoon (Friday 24th June) by British Waterways that agreement has been reached in principle for The Waterways Trust to merge its operations with the planned new waterways charity (NWC) when it is established next year.

We are told that the merger will enable The Waterways Trust and NWC to pool their strengths and resources in creating a unique new national charity to engage with supporters, partners and funders. The merger will ensure that NWC will be able to draw on an enormous pool of experience and expertise in disciplines ranging from engineering and conservation to marketing, fund raising, volunteering and education.

Enormous boost

Tony Hales, Chairman Designate of the new waterways charity, agrees:

"This is tremendous news and will ensure that a very large part of the country's precious waterway heritage will be held in trust for the nation. The joining together of NWC and The Waterways Trust will give the new waterways charity an enormous boost, not just by combining the physical structures and artefacts that make the waterways so unique, but through the collective knowledge and passion that each organisation's staff and volunteers bring with them."

Learnt lessons

Frances Done, Chairman of The Waterways Trust, added:

"We are delighted to be able support the new waterways charity in this way. Over the last 12 years we have learnt many lessons which will be important for the new charity. We have also seen success in a number of key areas including fund raising, building partnerships and attracting and working with volunteers, and look forward to building on these as part of the new waterways charity. We are delighted also that the work of the Trust will continue in Scotland building on our considerable achievements and focussing on the needs of Scotland's waterways."

The full detail of the merger will be developed over the coming months, with the trust's three museums, in Gloucester, Ellesmere Port and Stoke Bruerne, being transferred as a group, and continuing to be managed together in the new charity.