The entire length of the Kennet and Avon Canal will be classified as a cruiseway from 18 April 2011. Parts of the waterway already had cruiseway status but now the remaining sections have been upgraded from remainder status.
This means that British Waterways has a legal duty to maintain the canal in a suitable condition for use by cruising craft, according to Section 105 of the 1968 Transport Act. The 1968 Act defined three types of waterways: commercial, cruising and remainder. BW is not obliged to maintain remainder canals for navigation although a number of remainder canals are navigable. A look at Section 106 of the 1968 Transport Act informs us that a court can enforce BW’s duty to maintain a cruising or a commercial waterway if this duty has been breached.
Tags: British Waterways
Interesting. A good start for bw might be to switch the operation of all swingbridges from offside to towpath so single boaters can navigate the cut properly.