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Wilson Criticises DEFRA Funding Cuts
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Rob Wilson, Member of Parliament for Reading East, visited a flotilla of canal barges on the Kennet and Avon Canal on Saturday afternoon (25 November) to listen to the views of the various users of Reading ’s waterways who were taking part in the nationwide protest rally against DEFRA funding cuts to the UK waterways.
In the Thames Valley area alone, protests took place at Reading , Banbury, Thrupp, Goring, Devizes, Pewsey and Kingston on Thames . In Reading specifically, 8 narrowboats and a Dutch barge travelled from Burghfield Island Boat Club on the Kennet and Avon Canal , to The Oracle Shopping Centre in the heart of Rob's constituency in central Reading, combining there with canoe clubs and ramblers groups, where they moored just below the Duke Street Bridge at Kennetside. DEFRA notified the British Waterways in March that its grant funding would be cut by 5% (£3.1 million). British Waterways subsequently adjusted its budgets, but in August DEFRA announced that British Waterway’s funding would be cut by a further 7.5% (£4.5 Million) with a possible further 2.5% (£1.5 million) being slashed in November. This low level of funding is to continue through 2007 and perhaps until 2012. Rob Wilson commented: “In Reading and Berkshire we appreciate just how important the waterways are, not only to lifestyle but for providing a habitat for our native wildlife. "The Kennet and Avon Canal is home to wildlife includ ing owls, kingfishers, bats, voles and otters, which have prospered since the restoration work in 1990. "All this progress is now at risk with this latest round of Government cuts.” “These cuts are a sad reflection of this Labour Government’s approach, not only to the environment but also to our country’s history, tradition and culture. "The canal and waterway system is at the heart of Reading ’s history. The town’s three commercial foundation stones, beer, bulbs and biscuits went hand-in-hand with the transport network the canal system provided.” “Unfortunately, this cut in funding to organisations like British Waterways is almost entirely due to the Government’s incompetence in the handling of the Rural Payments Agency. "It is yet another example of an increase in spending followed by a deep cut. ” |
