Rubbish left on a towpath

CLEANER canal campaigners say they are furious that their concerns are going ignored by politicians as litter continues to pile up on the waterways.

The group last month launched a fightback against towpaths becoming a “dumping group”, saying that the Canal and River Trust’s decision to remove bins was the cause of the problem.

Their first success came last week as their campaign was raised in the House of Lords by Lord Evans of Rainow, a former Conservative MP and special constable.

Referencing the Tribune, he said: “Our canal towpaths, once the proud arteries of industrialised Britain, are now too often strewn with little, fly-tipped waste and the detritus of neglect.”

But campaigners say that despite multiple appeals to MPs, they discovered this week that the issue had never been raised to the CRT by the government.

Lord Evans of Rainow, who has called for the ‘neglect’ to end

Campaigner Oliver Mosley, who lives in Islington, said: “Our campaign might have been noticed in Parliament but it still hasn’t been noticed by the Canal and River Trust, and the Government has now said they haven’t even discussed the issue since July 2024.”

A meeting of the Friends of Regent’s Canal on Wednesday saw more than residents “furious” about the level of litter along the waterways.

The CRT have argued that it is too expensive to operate bin services on the canal. They say they have saved £250,000 through stopping the service in London and the South East, but that this money has been reinvested in “reactive litter picking and fly-tipping clearance”.

The charity receives a £50million grant from the government annually, and their CEO was paid almost £200,000 last year, according to their annual report.

Mr Mosley said: “This isn’t a money issue, it’s bad management and dodgy data wrapped up in platitudes and political spin. We just want a return to common sense. How long until our MP gets involved and sorts them out?”

A spokersperson for the CRT said: “Our charity looks after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in the UK – a national treasure from Britain’s industrial past. But they are old and need constant care to keep them open and safe – there are thousands of historic structures including bridges, locks, sluices, aqueducts and reservoirs that need maintenance.

“Last year we invested around £70m in engineering projects, with millions more spent on dredging and everyday repairs.”

They added: “Litter is one area people can really help make a difference.

“Our volunteers do an amazing job clearing rubbish from our towpaths and canals – whether that’s people’s litter or where it’s blown in off the streets, leaving us to deal with the problem. And we continue to ask everyone who visits to follow the Countryside Code and take their litter home.”