The Canal & River Trust charity is inviting people to put themselves forward for election to sit on its Council.
Those elected will serve a four-year term on the Council, which is responsible for the appointment of the charity’s trustees, providing guidance and perspective from different stakeholders, and acting as a sounding board for the trustees in relation to the development of proposals and strategy.
The Council, which meets twice a year, consists of up to 50 volunteer members both elected and independently nominated individuals.
Nominations are being invited for private boating, boating business, Trust volunteers, fisheries/angling, friends of the Trust and Trust employees.
Industrial age
The Council is chaired by the chair of the Trust board, David Orr CBE, who explained: “The Trust’s waterways are serving society in ways that the great canal engineers of the industrial age could never have imagined.
“Hundreds of years after they were built, they are home to more boats than ever before, and they are used by more people than at any time in history.”
He added: “We are at a critical moment as our canal network is also facing some major challenges due to its age and increasing vulnerability to more extreme weather events, soaring inflation, and a continuing real terms reduction in public funding.”
Nominations for the Council open on 27 October and close on 17 November and those elected will be announced early in 2024 ahead of joining the Council on 1 March 2024.
