Senedd set to debate future of ‘at risk’ canal

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

Senedd members are set to debate a 13,000-name petition calling for urgent action to save the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.

The Senedd petitions committee agreed to put forward the 13,847-signature petition for a debate amid concerns the 200-year-old canal could run dry.

The Canal & RIver Trust (CRT), which runs the canal, warned of a water shortage in March before agreeing an emergency supply reportedly costing the charity up to £100,000 a week.

But petitioners called for a long-term solution to safeguard the future of the Mon and Brec – “one of the most picturesque and tranquil waterways in the UK”.

Built in the 1790s, the 35-mile network of canals runs from Brecon to Newport through the national park and attracts around three million visitors a year.

‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’

The CRT relies on water abstraction to supply the canal, with up to 90% coming from the River Usk, and held exemptions until 2018 when regulations on licensing were changed.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) oversees licensing, limiting the volume of water that can be extracted to protect the River Usk and Severn Estuary special areas of conservation.

CRT appealed against licence limitations but Planning and Environmental Decisions Wales, an arm of the Welsh Government, rejected the appeals on environmental grounds.

In a letter to the petitions committee, Jan Butler, who submitted the petition, wrote: “The dependency of CRT on government funding has decreased since its formation in 2011 although it continues to receive an annual fixed grant from Defra….

“It is now being told that it must pay for water abstraction by another government department in the form of National Resources Wales, a devolved government body. This is unfair. In simple terms this is robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

‘It may not last this summer’

The petitioner said: “I was also very relieved to hear of the short-term agreement… which may have saved this season but has done little to ease the anxiety of businesses and the wider economy…. A long-term solution needs to be found with some degree of urgency.”

Mark Flood, of the Preserve & Protect The Mon & Brec Canal group, urged the Welsh Government to take a more proactive approach.

Writing to the committee, he accused Huw Irranca-Davies – Wales’ deputy first minister who is responsible for environmental policy – of failing to recognise the pressure on the trust.

He wrote: “With already tight finances and many demands on it across the whole of England and Wales, CRT will be unable to continue to buy extra water after this summer’s season.”

Mr Flood added: “Pressures on CRT from the other parts of CRT’s network will force them to stop prioritising the Mon and Brec canal. They have said publicly that their budget for extra water is capped and that they cannot continue to pay for water at this rate.

“It may not last this summer. Unless a viable sustainable solution is found very quickly then these same problems will arise again in the spring of 2026 if not sooner.”

‘Critical habitats’

In his own letter, Mr Irranca-Davies stressed that ensuring enough water for fish migration is critical to maintaining the integrity of the special areas of conservation.

The deputy first minister, who has a canal barge, said NRW assessments found limitations on water abstraction were necessary to protect the environment.

He wrote: “These areas are critical habitats for various species, including migratory fish, and are protected under environmental legislation to maintain their ecological integrity.”

Mr Irranca-Davies said NRW remained committed to balancing ecological needs of the rivers with the operational requirements of the canal.

The MP-turned-Senedd member, who was once a Defra minister, pointed to £2.75m of European and Welsh Government funding for a project aimed at enhancing the canal.

‘Nail in the coffin’

During a petitions committee meeting on May 12, Rhys ab Owen, who sits as an independent, proposed a debate after the petition met a 10,000-name threshold.

He said: “The petitioner believes the Welsh Government has not really responded to the issues, to the contribution the canal makes towards the environment, tourism, commerce and the importance of the canal to many people in the area.”

The Conservatives’ Joel James broadly agreed, saying: “As a child, I’d regularly go to the Brecon Beacons with my family… and it’s disappointing to hear that this canal that has been in operation for like 200 years has unfortunately now come up against NRW.”

He added: “If this canal goes under, that’s another nail in the coffin of our [tourism] industry.”

The committee, temporarily chaired by Plaid Cymru’s Luke Fletcher, accepted an invitation to visit the canal in early June, with the proposed debate in the Senedd set to follow.