Corporate report

Our waterways - a plan for 2025 – end of season report

Updated 20 March 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Introduction

This report provides an overview of the work we have done during the 2025 boating season against the commitments we made in ‘Our waterways - a plan for 2025’. We have included both quantitative and qualitative information to highlight what we have done between April 2025 and the end of November 2025. This is measured against each of the objectives and associated activities. We are committed to improving asset reliability and the service delivery on our waterways.

We:

• are working hard to make changes to ensure improvements can be made in the future
• have started to develop our longer-term outlook
• plan to consult with stakeholders and then publish this in 2026

Our objectives

The objectives in “Our waterways - a plan for 2025” are to:

• keep our staff and customers safe
• make improvements to the customer experience
• secure more income to move towards a financially sustainable service
• describe the future ambition for our waterways and how we will get there

Objective 1: keep our staff and customers safe

Our top objective is to keep our staff and customers safe whilst working on and using our waterways. This includes:

• site safety
• how activities are done
• the information we share
• regulation of the boats using our waterways

We promised to:

• report on the number of public safety risk assessments carried out, the number of actions identified as a result, and the number of actions completed
• complete the ways of working project and update the operational instructions that set out how our staff do specific tasks, if necessary
• share our analysis of any reported health and safety incidents

Our progress on these topics is shown in the next section.

Report on the number of public safety risk assessments carried out, the number of actions identified as a result, and the number of actions completed

We have legal obligations to assess, control and minimise public safety risks which might be created by our assets and activities. We carry out Public Safety Risk Assessments (PSRAs) on assets we own, operate, or maintain. Asset inspection frequency is determined by the underlying risk rating.

This means:

• high and medium underlying risk rated sites are inspected annually
• low underlying risk rated sites are inspected every three years - they can be inspected more frequently if other inspections are happening at the site and it makes sense to combine the visit

The PSRAs identify the control measures required to manage the risks at an asset, and regular inspections check that the control measures are still in place and functional. Where the inspection identifies actions that are required to ensure the control measures are sufficient, these are recorded as defects. These must be addressed before the defect can be closed.

These cover a range of topics including:

• structural hazards
• vegetation and environmental obstructions
• signage issues
• safety equipment deficiencies
• accessibility concerns
• control failures
• vandalism and wear
• maintenance and housekeeping

Between April 2025 and November 2025, we undertook 1,350 PSRA inspections relating to our navigation assets. These identified 308 defects. Our corporate aim is to address PSRA defects within 90 days. Of the defects identified since April, 72 have been resolved to date. However, we have also actioned and closed defects which were identified prior to April 2025. This means that in total we actioned and closed 318 PSRA between April and November.

We want people to enjoy the water responsibly and know what to do to avoid accidental drowning. This especially applies to our higher risk structures like sluices, locks, weirs and moorings.

Our objectives in this space are to:  

• make sure that audiences understand the dangers of water, the risks surrounding entering the water and what to do if in trouble or witnessing others in trouble

• make sure that we are visually and publicly demonstrating our own role and commitment in relation to water safety and reducing water related deaths

• continue to foster successful communication partnerships with other organisations in this field, and the boating community, so that communications reach as wide an audience as possible

We use our national and local social media accounts to warn and inform target audiences about:

• the dangers of accidental drowning on river structures we manage
• how to avoid these dangers

We aim to:

• run posts between April and September which is the peak water recreation season
• emphasise on highest risk days, for example hot weather and exam results days
• focus on the highest risk audience groups as identified by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS)

Two videos, presented by our Area Directors, featured in 4 of our top 10 national water safety posts:

• 2 in #DrowningPreventionWeek
• 2 on #GCSEResultsDay

These were spread across Facebook, X and Instagram. Our ‘Never jump or dive into rivers’ graphic was the most popular still image of the campaign. It featured in 4 of the top 10 posts nationally and locally.

Never jump or dive into rivers:

• gained 52,000 impressions which is 10 times the channel benchmark
• had 4,000 engagements, which is 20 times the channel benchmark
• had an engagement rate of 7.4%, which is twice the channel benchmark

Most content was posted over local channels, with 75 posts on X accounts and 21 posts on our Thames and Anglian Waterways Facebook accounts. In comparison, there were 12 posts across all national channels. These included:

• X
• Instagram
• Facebook

The different social media statistics are based on:

• impressions – these are the number of times content is displayed on someone’s feed – every time content is served, which means it appears in a feed, it counts as one impression
• engagement – this measures the public shares, likes and comments for the social media content
• engagement rate – this is measured per impression and is the number of times users engaged with your content as a percentage of impressions - this indicates how engaged people are with your content

Complete the ways of working project and update the operational instructions that set out how our staff do specific tasks, if necessary

We are committed to health, safety, and operational excellence. To support this we are currently reviewing and updating the risk control documentation associated with Lock and Weir Keeping (LWK) activities. This work follows the findings of a recent independent report, which highlighted several operational areas for improvement.

These included:

• training
• record keeping
• administrative controls

We have established a dedicated review group which meets monthly in person. The group includes representatives from:

• health, safety and wellbeing (HSW)
• national navigation
• team leaders from the Kent and South London (KSL), Thames, and Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and East Anglia areas
• Thames trade union

The group has developed a draft Generic Risk Assessment (GRA) for core LWK activities. This is undergoing review and approval. We will make sure that any remaining actions from the independent report are captured for a future phase of work.

Share our analysis of any reported health and safety incidents

We use an internal system to log:

• near misses
• hazards
• HSW incidents
• positive behaviours

This helps keep our staff and our customers safe and well and manages our impact on the environment. We also use the system to record the active monitoring we do to proactively identify potential issues before they escalate.

We collect information relating to incidents involving our customers. This helps us identify if there are changes we need to make to our assets, guidance or advice. In the Environment Agency we have a positive no blame culture. This actively encourages reporting to ensure we can learn lessons quickly and prevent incidents where possible.

From April 2025 to November 2025 there were a total of 265 incidents reported on our system in relation to our customers, waterways teams and their work. Table 1 shows the:

• types of incidents
• total number reported
• percentage of the total reported incidents this equates to

Table 1 – type, number and percentage of reported incidents

Type of incident	Total incidents reported	Percentage of total reported incidents
Environmental incident and near miss	14	5%
Health, safety and wellbeing near miss	93	35%
Hostile or hazardous site	27	10%
Ill health	3	1%
Injury	34	13%
Positive behaviour - health, safety and wellbeing or environmental	15	6%
Property damage - including fleet	13	5%
Unsafe condition or act	66	25%
Total	265	100%

In relation to the incidents involving members of the public the themes were:

• public access breaches and trespass
• boating incidents, including general navigation errors
• lock operation failures, often at unmanned lock sites
• falls into the water
• personal injury, including non‑water related
• structural or asset failures
• anti‑social behaviour and disorder
• missing persons and emergency response
• security issues
• contractor or third‑party failures

In relation to the incidents involving our staff members, volunteers and contractors, the main themes were:

• aggression, abuse and threats toward staff
• mechanical failures and equipment faults
• environmental pollution and water quality incidents
• workplace injuries and manual handling issues
• communication failures
• lone working risks
• asset maintenance backlogs and deterioration
• emergency response challenges

Active monitoring

Within our waterways teams during April 2025 to November 2025 we undertook 260 instances of active monitoring. This helps to identify potential issues before they escalate. The types of themes these covered were:

• health, safety and wellbeing
• environmental monitoring
• asset and site condition
• operational readiness and training
• wellbeing and office safety

There is more detail on each of these in the next section.

Health, safety and wellbeing

This was the dominant theme and included:

• working in or near water – lifejacket compliance, water safety drills, boat work checks, and lock operations
• driving and vehicle safety – pre-use checks, winter driving preparations, tyre pressure issues, and driver authorisation
• manual handling and ergonomics – safe lifting practices, use of tools and machinery, and workstation/DSE assessments
• lone working – use of PeopleSafe (our lone worker tracking system), dynamic risk assessments, and monitoring compliance with lone worker policies
• hostile situations and stress management – handling aggressive behaviour, stress risk assessments, and wellbeing check-ins
• PPE compliance – audits of lifejackets, helmets, and other protective gear

Environmental monitoring

This includes:

• pollution incidents - actively checking for any incidents such as water contamination as part of business-as-usual activities
• invasive species and biosecurity - actively checking for any invasive species and that applicable biosecurity measures are being undertaken where required
• waste and site cleanliness - actively checking sites for litter and conducting site audits for compliance with environmental standards

Asset and site condition

This includes:

• lock and sluice inspections - actively checking the structural integrity, defects, and maintenance needs
• security assessments - actively checking for vulnerabilities at depots and lock sites, including CCTV and fencing
• public safety equipment - actively checking lifebuoys and rescue equipment audits

Operational readiness and training

This includes:

• toolbox talks and refresher training - checking that talks and training no topics like water safety, manual handling, and hand arm vibration syndrome had been completed
• emergency preparedness - undertaking fire drills, evacuation plans, and reviews of emergency manuals
• volunteer monitoring - ensuring volunteers were following safety protocols at lock sites

Wellbeing and office safety

This includes:

• office environment checks - actively checking for trip hazards, lighting issues, and ergonomic setups
• mental health and technostress - actively checking whether adjustments for dyslexia are required and stress risk assessments are undertaken

Objective 2: make improvements to the customer experience

We want to make improvements to customer experience. This includes:

• navigating our waterways
• the visibility of our staff
• the availability of information

We promised to:

• report on the number of actions completed to address any asset defects
• share information on the percentage of locks receiving a pre-season operational check
• update on implementation of the new defect reporting procedure to improve efficiency
• feedback on the number of press releases and social media account posts, with an assessment of their reach
• update on the number of new digital products provided
• keep you informed via social media of our activities at important times and locations

The next section shows our progress on these actions.

Report on the number of actions completed to address any asset defects

We are making improvements for all assets across the business. Our Environment Agency asset management vision sets out for our customers how we are trying to improve the reliability of navigation assets. We are working to improve our preventative maintenance programmes to reduce the number of defects. This will mean our assets don’t detrimentally affect the enjoyment of our waterways by our customers.

We completed £25.5m of capital investment between April 2024 and March 2025 to restore the condition of some of our assets or improve their operability. Over 40% of the investment last year was allocated to locks. A further 30% was assigned to multifunctional assets such as weirs and sluices.

This year, April 2025 to March 2026, includes £5 million of additional funding provided by Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM). This brings the total navigation capital allocation to £30 million. The allocation principles prioritise funding for projects which:

• improve our ability to generate income for further reinvestment
• add resilience to our assets

Examples include:

• increasing the capacity of our mooring sites
• hydraulic upgrades to improve the reliability of lock operations

Over 45% of funding has been allocated towards locks and 35% on water control structures with multi-functional benefits. We are committed to providing the highest levels of network availability at the start of the boating season. This has influenced decisions to defer rather than complete some works this year which were delayed due to weather and operational factors.

We use a system called ‘Asset Information Management System: Operation and Maintenance’ (AIMS: OM) to store data about our assets. This is our main asset register. The system holds information about the defects that occur at our assets.

In the period between April 2025 and November 2025 we fixed 441 asset defects in total. These defects covered a range of categories including:

• widespread deterioration of paint, safety markings and signage
• significant mechanical issues with gates, gearboxes, hydraulics and control systems
• multiple electrical installation condition report (EICR) and electrical safety failures requiring urgent remedial work
• structural safety hazards including trip hazards, rotten timber, missing chain/grab points, and unstable railings
• environmental or vegetation issues causing obstructions and operational problems
• landing stage, mooring and access defects creating safety risks for boaters and staff

We are using analysis of our defect data to inform our future maintenance programmes.

Share information on the percentage of locks receiving a pre-season operational check

To help make sure there was a successful start to the boating season, we completed pre-season operational checks on all 123 of our lock sites. These confirm their operability and report any major performance issues.

This approach provided a consistent and coordinated view across our waterways. These checks are also being completed again for the start of the 2026 boating season.

These operational checks included making sure:

• signage is present and legible
• there was no build-up of debris on steps, landings, sluices and canoe portages
• gates can be opened and closed and paddles can be raised and lowered
• lifting ropes and bungees are in working condition
• float chamber covers are secure
• handrails, fencing and gates are secure
• booms are not split or damaged
• canoe and fish passes aren’t blocked
• weir adjustments are working
• pump-outs are working

Update on implementation of the new defect reporting procedure to improve efficiency

We’re strengthening how we track and manage asset defects across our sites by using our asset database (AIMS OM) more rigorously. We are also providing clear, consistent guidance to our teams. By closely monitoring how the system is used, we’re making sure defects are recorded accurately and consistently. This helps us make better-informed decisions.

This initiative is part of our transition to Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM), which is a proactive approach that focuses on our most critical assets. By identifying and addressing potential issues early, we’re:

• improving reliability
• reducing downtime
• providing a better service to our customers

Feedback on the number of press releases and social media account posts, with an assessment of their reach

Our X (formerly twitter) accounts are:

• @EnvAgencySE for the River Thames, Medway Navigation and Rye Harbour
• @EnvAgencyAnglia and @EnvAgencyMids for Anglian waterways

We made 70 social media X account posts across the 3 regional accounts (Anglia, Midlands, South East) between April 2025 and end of November 2025. There are 60,663 followers of the 3 accounts and the total number of impressions was 44,348.

Our social media posts covered a range of issues including:

• enforcement and compliance activity
• river patrols
• maintenance of locks and other assets
• river clearance
• boat and water safety

Our Facebook accounts are:

• Environment Agency River Thames Waterways Team
• Visit Anglian Waterways EA

The Thames Facebook account received 693 new followers between April 2025 and end of November 2025. This compares with 342 for April 2024 to end of November 2024. In summary:

• we made 64 posts on the Thames Waterways Facebook account
• the total reach was 464,182 people
• just over 50.2% of the total reach (232,922 people) came from posts relating to ‘promoting the work our staff are doing’
• about 10.8% of the total reach (50,207 people) came from posts relating to the ‘number of non-residential boats removed from problem areas’ -during this period we posted 3 times about boat removal

By comparison in the same period April 2024 to end of November 2024 we made 51 Facebook posts with a reach of 238,549. This is a reach increase of 94%.

We made 294 social media posts on the Visit Anglian Waterways Facebook account from April 2025 to end of November 2025. This included:

• 282 photos
• 6 text based messages
• 3 links
• 3 videos

The posts primarily focussed on:

• navigation notices and advisories
• emergency and planned closures
• updates about locks
• general information related to our Anglian rivers, especially the River Nene and Great Ouse

On average we posted 2.24 posts per day, 7.17 posts per week and 24.5 posts per month.

Press and media enquiries

We responded to 55 media enquiries relating to navigation between April 2025 and the end of November 2025. This included:

• media enquiries
• interviews
• statements

These covered subjects such as:

• assets repairs and maintenance, including bridges, locks, weirs
• sunken or abandoned boats
• lock keepers
• prosecutions

We sent out 5 proactive press releases on subjects such as:

• successful prosecutions for non-registration offences
• boat removals
• safety

Update on the number of new digital products provided

This financial year we introduced:

• 2 new digital forms on GOV.UK for boat registration customers
• a new internal IT system that deals with boat registrations - over the coming year this will form the foundation for a new customer facing boat registration platform

These new digital products allow:

• customers to renew a registration if paying by Direct Debit
• customers to notify us of a change of ownership
• our customer service team to deal with customers boat registrations and renewals more efficiently

Our Chief Executive, Philip Duffy, has directly committed to improve our navigation service. As a result, completing a new digital system to manage and administer boat registrations is now at the top of the priority list for our digital project team.

The first phase of this was a move away from the Navigation Licencing System (NLS) which we used to use internally, to a new platform to manage boat registrations. This is called the Regulatory Services Permissions (ReSP) Platform – Boat Registrations. This project was completed in November 2025. In phase 2 we will develop the capability for customers to apply for and manage boat registrations online efficiently. We hope the customer facing elements will be available in the financial year 2026 to 2027.

We have also been using digital innovation to help our enforcement work and increase efficiency. These include apps that staff can use:

• to view lock and weir information to advise customers and members of the public
• for boat compliance checks which record information of non-compliant boats

Keep you informed via social media of our activities at important times and locations

We have been keeping you informed of the good work we are doing. This includes:

• registration enforcement checks
• river inspections
• boat removals
• planned work progress updates
• sewage and rubbish disposal
• water safety initiatives
• speeding checks
• replacing channel signage
• training with other enforcement agencies
• opening of new assets, for example a new footbridge at Twyford Marina Bridge on the Medway Navigation and the Strand Quay Pontoon at Rye Harbour
• litter picks
• awards for our work, for example our Bronze Level Considerate Constructors Scheme Award for the Teston Sluice refurbishment

We also used navigation notices to keep you updated on:

• on channel blockages
• asset breakdowns and closures
• when they were fixed

These are issued by our area teams on:

• GOV.UK
• the area team’s local website
• area Facebook pages
• directly by email

Anglian Navigation notices

During April 2025 to end of November 2025, Anglian waterways issued a total of 204 navigation notices. These consisted of:

• 148 advisory notices
• 10 restrictions
• 46 closures

On average navigation notices were open for 14 days. The time taken to rescind (withdraw) notices ranged from 0 to 203 days. Navigation notices were issued to support safe and efficient navigation. These included:

• advisory notices
• closure notices
• restriction notices
• obstruction notices

The main reasons for the notices on Anglian waterways were:

• fallen trees
• mechanical failures
• low water levels
• LOLER inspections
• winter works
• minor site maintenance
• health and safety concerns
• reduced operating capacity
• planned electrical outages
• severe shoaling
• trees obstructing navigation
• underwater survey activity
• river events, such as rowing, kayaking, canoeing club and community events in and around the waterways

Medway Navigation and Rye Harbour notices

From April 2025 to end of November 2025, we issued 15 Notices to Mariners. These were in response to operational and infrastructure developments across the Medway Navigation. These events affected:

• waterway functionality
• user access
• maintenance priorities

The duration of time to resolve notices ranged from 0 to 98 days, averaging 16 days. Most issues were addressed promptly to reduce disruption to customers as much as possible.

The main reasons for the notices were:

• sunken boats
• mechanical failures
• repairs to improve safety
• shoaling
• pump out facility faults
• event notices
• fallen trees
• to undertake surveys

Thames navigation notices

From April 2025 to end of November 2025, we issued 106 Harbour Master Notices for the Thames. Of these, 91 related to recreational events that temporarily restricted navigation. All were resolved within the April to November period. In Thames, Harbour Master Notices are used for planned restrictions or closures due to public events or refurbishment works.

The remaining 15 notices concerned lock closures and scheduled maintenance. Resolution durations ranged from 0 to 31 days with an average resolution time of 10 days. Two maintenance notices remained active at the end of the season.

The main reasons for the notices on the Thames were:

• recreational events
• lock closures and maintenance

In addition to the above planned notices, 2 navigation notices were issued in response to unplanned events. These included a road vehicle in the navigation and a lock fault.

Objective 3: secure more income to move towards a more financially sustainable service

Money is critical to provide the best possible service. The navigation service is supported by:

• grant in aid funding from government
• charge income from boat registration, moorings and other services
• commercial income

We want to make sure we are maximising this income and moving towards the financial sustainability of the service.

We promised to:

• report on our compliance activity and outcomes and the number of boat registrations against 2024 figures
• report the number of commercial projects completed and any additional income these will raise
• share the approaches we will take to improve the financial sustainability of navigation

The next section shows our progress against these topics.

Report on our compliance activity and outcomes and the number of boat registrations against 2024 figures

Compliance activity

As part of the commitment to acting on what you told us was important to you, we have brought in new processes and training. We:

• have trained additional staff to undertake compliance checks
• are recruiting new patrol officers to increase our compliance and enforcement activity on the river in future

This makes sure more of our staff on the ground can complete compliance checks and bring in income to improve our service.

In KSL on the Medway Navigation the compliance rate for April to the end of November 2025 is estimated to be around 82.2%. Between April 2025 and the end of November 2025 the team completed 2 patrols and 659 compliance checks. 249 boats were found to be unregistered. Of these:

• 148 of these boats have since become compliant
• 101 cases remain open

We estimate that because of this work £59,940 of revenue income was protected. This means that in future we can invest this income to improve our service delivery. The team are preparing case files for 9 boats for prosecution with sign-off from the Area Enforcement Group. They are collaborating with the Thames Enforcement team on case production, for consistency and sharing best practice. They have delivered training in the use of the new boat registration system to 12 members of the Waterways Team.

In Thames, 171 notices were served between April 2025 and the end of November 2025. Of these:

• 117 of these are now compliant having registered their vessels
• 39 case files were submitted to our legal team with a recommendation for prosecution
• 15 investigations were still ongoing at the end of the season

We estimate because of this work £103,000 of revenue income was protected. In addition, a further £25,750 in registration fees and costs were protected by enforcement through the courts. £13,750 of this was for registration offences detected in 2024 (with those offences being prosecuted during this period). At the end of November 2025 we estimated the compliance rate on the river to be to be around 92%.

In Anglian, the team issued 875 compliance notices between April 2025 and end of November 2025. We estimate because of this work £191,000 of revenue income was protected. The Anglian waterways estimated compliance rate for April 2025 to November 2025 is 90%.

In addition to our business-as-usual compliance work, we are also on course to remove over 100 sunk and abandoned vessels from the non-tidal Thames. We will achieve this by the end of March 2026 in our biggest push in a decade to tidy up the watercourse. We:

• removed 35 in September 2025
• removed 18 in January 2026
• plan to remove a further 70 throughout March 2026

The work has been spearheaded by a newly created task force whose mission is to deal with some of the long-standing challenges that the Thames faces. This includes old and discarded boats as well as those that are unregistered or left at unauthorised moorings. We are working with partners and riparian landowners to enable them to do the same. This will improve the river environment for all. Our approach to non-registration offences on the Thames has changed. Whilst we continue to prosecute offenders through our escalation process, we have now begun to remove boats where the owner has previously been prosecuted and continues not to comply. We are currently recruiting more patrol officers to clamp down further.

Number of boat registrations

In 2024 we had a total of 18,021 standard boat registrations covering all categories of boat. The total to the end of November for 2025 was 15,901. This figure will increase when the manual registrations from locks and agent issued registrations are added. We will update this report with the 2025 full year figures when the data has been processed.

We also have some income from what we term joint registrations. Joint registrations are the result of agreements we have with other Navigation Authorities to collect income on our behalf to account for a shared interest or benefit. We get a proportion of the income raised for boats that have this type of joint registration. A Gold Licence is a joint registration for boats who wish to use our and Canal and River Trust (CRT) waterways.

We also have registration agreements with other organisations where there is a benefit to the customer of only having to administrate one registration fee with one organisation.  We have these agreements with British Rowing and PaddleUK. They collect registration fees for their members and a proportion of these are paid to us to cover our registration fee requirements. We do this because their members may use our waterways. We will update this report with the 2025 figures when the data has been processed.

Tables 2 and 3 provide a breakdown of our standard registrations and Table 4 provides a breakdown of our joint registrations and registration agreements.

Table 2 – number of registrations - all types

Area	2024 (full year)	2024 (to end of June 2024)	2025 (to end of June 2025)	2025 (to end of Nov 25)
Thames	11,657	9,645	8,809	9,781
Anglian	5,242	4,335	4,214	5,026
Medway	1,122	825	727	1,094
Total	18,021	14,805	13,750	15,901

Table 3 – number of registrations - private powered only

Area	2024 (full year)	2024 (to end of June 2024)	2025 (to end of June 2025)	2025 (to end of Nov 25)
Thames	7,065	6,451	6,360	6,951
Anglian	3,921	3,312	3,290	3,781
Medway	604	491	498	595
Total	11,555	10,225	10,099	11,327

Table 4 – Joint Registrations and Registration Agreements

Type	2024
Gold Licence (boats allowed on both CRT and EA waters)	1,039
British Rowing (e.g. rowing boats and unpowered safety boats)	4,572
PaddleUK (paddleboards/canoes)	82,499

Report the number of commercial projects completed and any additional income these will raise 

Over the last few years, we have allocated around 8% of our capital funding per year to progress projects that should increase our revenue income in the long term. These projects are summarised in the next section.

Completed projects

• We completed a refurbishment of the Jenyns Arms pub which we own at Denver complex in East Anglia - we have identified a tenant and will now secure income from this property.
• We completed a refurbishment of an old lock house at Allington Lock on the Medway Navigation which we will rent out to external tenants - this upgrade will secure additional income.
• We completed a leisure mooring market price assessment across all waterways - as a result, we implemented new mooring fees across the Thames in April 2024.
• In 2024 we completed a mooring extension on the east bank of the Denver complex in East Anglia.

Ongoing projects

• A strategic outline case has been approved for a Thames mooring extension programme. We have completed site appraisals, shortlisting and further viability studies of the shortlisted sites. We hope to move into detailed design and develop a full business case in 2026, subject to funding. The construction date is currently uncertain.
• We will be leasing a campsite at Allington Lock on the Medway Navigation.
• We have undertaken a review of rents of over 40 assets at Rye Harbour and will be developing a broader strategy for the site. We have increased our projected rental income by 30% for April 2025 to March 2026 compared to April 2024 to March 2025. Amending further rental agreements to reflect true market value at Rye Harbour is expected to almost double our income at Rye Harbour in 2026-27. This additional income helps to fund our operations at the harbour.
• We have advertised leasing opportunities for our 5 Thames campsites at Shiplake, Hurley, Eynsham, Days and Rushey. Bids have been received and evaluated and a preferred bidder identified.
• We are looking to increase occupancy rates across all our mooring sites.
• We are planning to formalise winter moorings along the Thames. We have identified several sites that we believe may be appropriate locations for winter moorings and will continue to work with colleagues to assess risks and align our approach to a developing mooring strategy (part of the Navigation Commercial Strategy, mentioned below).
• We are doing a review of towpath, commercial and end-of-garden mooring charges on the Thames. This will identify all sites along the Thames where boats are moored over our riverbed (not moored on our assets) and implement charges. Work has been completed to identify sites, and an internal assessment is underway to identify next steps and the correct approach to take this work forward.
• Our estates team is currently doing a desk-based review of all waterway assets to assess the most commercially advantageous approach to their future management. Colleagues have undertaken hundreds of site assessments, both desk-based and physical, assessing each for their commercial potential. This review will mean in future the income from our land and assets aligns with market value. Some sites will be assessed more closely to identify how they can most optimally be utilised for best public value.
• A first draft of a Navigation Commercial Strategy is being developed as we continue to push the above projects, identify barriers, and work across the organisation to implement effective income generating solutions.

Future projects

• Thames accommodation licence review. Accommodation licences are required from the Environment Agency to keep an existing structure or install a new structure in, on or over the River Thames or cut into the bank. We charge for these licences.
• Strategic review of boater services, for example pump outs, water and electricity provision.
• Review of Thames towpath for leasing opportunities.
• Lydney Harbour – redevelopment of mooring basin.

We estimate the combination of these projects will generate around £1.5 million a year of additional revenue income. This will support our service delivery and improve the overall service to our customers.

Share the approaches we will take to improve the financial sustainability of navigation

To improve our financial sustainability, we are exploring the commercial opportunities for navigation. We are reviewing and assessing the potential for our estate and services to generate income with a view to maximising this going forward.

For example, we are looking at:

• ensuring current activities are at market rates
• capturing income more efficiently through compliance
• improving digital payment options, for example at moorings
• exploring and testing the creation of new income streams

New income streams could include:

• leasing sites or access for leisure or retail experience
• creating new chargeable services through app platforms and pay to use services

The additional income generated by this work will allow us to invest more in improving the condition of our assets and the service we provide.

Current legislative restrictions as an arm’s length body may challenge the implementation of some opportunities. However, we will be exploring the possibilities to influence change in this area. Exploring technology and partnership working will be integral to enhancing our commercial approach. We will integrate this work into the new strategy.

Objective 4: Describe the plan for navigation in future years

The Plan for 2025 is a short-term plan to respond to an immediate need. It also aligns with a 1-year settlement for our grant in aid funding for 2025 to 2026. We developed it with the main principles that we will include within any long-term strategy:

• safety as a priority
• valuing our customers
• being financially sustainable

With a view to:

• publishing a new plan before April 2026 with a longer-term outlook
• confirming the baseline data sets that we will use for future reporting and decision making

The next section shows our progress on these topics.

Publish a new plan before April 2026 with a longer-term outlook

Work to develop our next strategy is underway. This will be a 5-year plan which clearly describes our total navigation provision:

• bringing together asset management
• service delivery and commercial opportunity
• setting the direction for a future, modern navigation service

Our teams are developing the content and structure and stakeholder representatives have been giving their views. We will continue to seek stakeholder input as it develops. Some development work to inform the content and direction will complete in May 2026. This is impacting the overall publishing timeline. However, in the meantime, we will continue to prioritise the principles set out in the Plan for 2025.

Confirm the baseline data sets that we will use for future reporting and decision making

We will continue to report on the data themes included in this report.  If, having read this document, you feel there is data you would like us to consider providing in future reports, you can let us know using our feedback form. 

How we will continue to progress the plan

We continue to prioritise improving the service we offer to our customers and the management of our assets, in line with ‘Our waterways - a plan for 2025’.

We want to hear your views

You can share your feedback on our end of season report by completing this feedback form.

We will not respond to individual feedback, but we will read and consider the information you provide when drafting the new strategy and planning our future work.