The Canal & River Trust recently held its latest National Boater Forum. It was a live, online meeting between the Trust’s leadership and boaters from across the network. A fast-moving drought is closing canals, and major licensing changes are on the way, so there was a great deal to cover. The Trust recorded the session and published it online. We’ve watched it in full, and we’ve done our best to summarise the key points below. Even so, there was far more discussed than one article can hold, so it is well worth watching for yourself. Afterwards, do let us know what you think in the comments.
The forum was really a meeting of two halves. First, it faced squarely into a drought that is closing canals faster than the Trust can give notice. Then it set out a new, more collaborative approach to licensing. Are you planning to cruise this summer, or worried about where licensing is heading? Either way, here is what you need to know.
A “flash drought” is reshaping the network
The headline from operations was stark. This year, England has seen only about 4% of its average July rainfall, and Wales about 6%. In just a single week, half of England shifted into “prolonged dry weather” status. Meanwhile, most of Wales is already formally in drought. The Trust calls this a “flash drought”. In other words, very low rainfall and four heatwaves have brought the dry conditions on quickly and deeply. As a result, water companies, farmers and navigation authorities have all been caught out. Five water companies have already brought in temporary use bans, and more are expected.
For boaters, the crucial figure is reservoir stocks. Right now, they sit a little higher than during the severe 2025 drought. However, they are falling on a much steeper trajectory. Worse still, they are forecast to reach a lower point earlier in the season. Groundwater is under strain too. On top of that, five of the Trust’s abstraction points have hit “hands-off flow”, so the Trust must now stop drawing water from those rivers. Many of its 67 conditional abstraction licences are also imposing flow limits.
The result is plain to see across the network. There are 45 closures in total, and 23 of those come down to low water alone. A further 14 restrictions look likely to tip into closures. Fallen trees have made things worse, too. In fact, June and July brought double the usual number, and that is the most ever recorded at this point in the year.
The Trust was candid that not every problem comes down to rainfall. Some canals hold enough water but still cannot keep or move it, largely because of leaks and maintenance backlogs. Take the Lancaster Canal. There is enough water in Killington reservoir to see out the cruising season. Even so, leaks and weed in the northern reaches make it hard to get that water where it is needed. Emergency repairs on the Llangollen were happening at the same time. Chief executive Campbell Robb admitted that the Trust has not always prioritised the right repairs at the right time. That, he said, is now changing.
What the Trust is doing about it
The Trust has switched on its national incident management structure. A “gold command” now runs day-to-day, and Campbell Robb chairs the executive oversight above it. The focus has pivoted firmly to retaining water. Teams are prioritising repairs to leaky lock gates and paddles, fixing leaks, and improving feeder channels. They are also closing leaky dead-end arms with stop planks, which protects supply on higher-priority routes. To free up people and resources, the Trust is pausing some planned preventative maintenance.
Communication was a recurring promise. The Trust wants to give boaters quicker, more accurate information. That way, you can make good decisions about whether and where to move your boat. Even so, it warned honestly that this flash drought may make its usual multi-week notice of closures impossible. So the clear ask is simple. Subscribe to stoppage notices, and keep an eye on the stoppages page, because things are changing fast.
A different approach to licensing
The second half introduced “Transforming Boating”. This is an umbrella programme, and it pulls together several strands of work. These include the Trust’s response to the 2025 Future of Licensing Commission, the existing Better Boating Plan, and further projects still to be defined. Alice Hamilton leads the work. She was frank that the Commission report had been “a bit of a wake-up call”, because it surfaced real distrust between boaters and the Trust.
The centrepiece is a shift to “co-production”. Rather than simply asking for feedback, the Trust plans to work hand in hand with boaters. That means boater council representatives, national boating organisations, navigation advisory groups and a new citizens’ boater panel. Together, they will help design the consultation questions, shape the options, and review policy proposals before anything is finalised. A “comply or explain” framework will guide the feedback. In short, where the Trust cannot act on a point, it promises to explain why. An independent research agency will also run the live consultation, which keeps it free of organisational bias.
The timeline matters if you want a say. Foundation and co-production work runs through the second half of this year. After that, a 14-week public consultation opens in December. It will welcome all boaters, waterway users and the public. Importantly, towpath pop-ups and a phone option will make sure digitally isolated boaters are not shut out. Analysis and any policy changes would then follow between April and June next year. Meanwhile, the Trust says it is chasing “quick wins” now. For example, it is already tackling abandoned and sunken boats and improving liveaboard welfare support.
The questions boaters pushed hardest on
The Q&A was lively, and leaks drew the most heat. Boaters asked the Trust to publish the leaks it already knows about, along with a timetable to fix them. In response, the Trust said a boater app to report defects, such as leaky paddles, is in development. Network Rail’s Vazon sliding bridge at Keadby also came up. It now has a 16°C operating limit, so it is effectively shut all summer, and boaters urged the Trust to press Network Rail harder. Other threads covered plenty more, including the promised list of “key routes” (due within the week), the weight licence-payers’ views really carry, licence display versus enforcement, the cut in government funding, and the restoration of canals such as the Stroudwater and Montgomery.
The environment came up as well. One boater raised the strain that low water places on ecosystems, and the spread of invasive species. In reply, the Trust pointed to its drought contingency planning. That work includes fish rescues, dissolved-oxygen monitoring, and protected sweetening flows for sites of special scientific interest.
The bottom line for boaters
Expect a difficult, unpredictable summer on the water, and treat short-notice closures as a real possibility. So subscribe to stoppage notices, and report any significant leaks you spot. Then, if you want to influence where licensing goes next, watch for the citizens’ panel and the December consultation. Finally, you can send any unanswered questions to the National Boating Enquiries inbox. The full forum recording is on the Trust’s boater forum recordings page, too.
Watch the forum and have your say
We’ve done our best to summarise the key points above. Even so, the full 90-minute forum covered far more than we could fit here, so do watch it for yourself. Were you on the call? Are you affected by the closures and the licensing changes ahead? We’d love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments below.
