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How does BOWS differ from the Grantham Canal Society?
The GCS has been going for many years, and can trace its roots back to the late 1960s when people first starting protesting about the Canal’s hump-backed bridges being removed to make way for wider roads.
We differ from the GCS in that it gives priority, above all else, to enabling the navigation of the canal by narrowboats and cabin cruisers. The GCS is led by narrowboat enthusiasts and they currently put most of their effort and resources into campaigning for the opening of the link between the River Trent and Cotgrave and the repairing of locks in Lincolnshire.
Most of the public funding they receive goes into these projects and, over the years, the Leicestershire section has continued to be neglected.
You may ask, “Why don’t people here simply join the GCS instead of BOWS, and get the GCS to pursue the aims that BOWS wants to achieve?”
It is our belief that the GCS has set itself an aim which is both too costly to be achieved within our lifetimes. The £50 million it will cost to restore navigation to the canal is, in our opinion, a wholly unrealistic goal to set, and it is counter-productive in that it distracts public bodies from immediate improvements which can be achieved at a much lower cost .
BOWS respects the opinions of people who want to open up of the canal to narrowboats and cruisers. However, we want British Waterways and other public bodies to focus first on reed control and basic maintenance issues which will improve it as an amenity for walkers and other users, and to tackle full navigation only when our main concerns have been resolved.
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