22 February 2016

The Environment Agency (EA) and & River Trust have established a joint working group to explore different options for running the 620 miles of EA-managed river navigations. It still remains the Government’s ambition to transfer the EA’s responsibility for navigation of the rivers to the Trust, subject to affordability and approval by the Trust’s Board and the Minister. This will help realise the benefits of a sustainable navigation and give the public greater involvement in the running of the waterways. The working group will begin with an information and data gathering exercise looking at all of the EA’s navigations, including: the non-tidal ; the ; the non-tidal ; the East Anglian navigations and Rye Harbour. The next step will be to investigate the various potential options required for such a complex move and to understand the aspirations and views of users. No decisions have yet been made on the details of a potential move, however the EA, the Trust and Defra are committed to finding a sustainable future for the EA’s river navigations and to working with the communities who use them.

For press enquiries contact: Canal & River Trust press office: tel. 0203 2044514 [email protected] Environment Agency press office: tel. 0203 0255562

Notes to editors The Canal & River Trust was established in 2012 to care for 2,000 miles of waterways in and , including around 1,600 miles of , more than 300 miles of river navigations, as well as associated docks, locks, bridges, feeders, , embankments and aqueducts. The Environment Agency was established in 1996 to protect and improve the environments and is responsible for:  regulating major industry and waste  treatment of contaminated land  water quality and resources   inland river, estuary and harbour navigations  conservation and ecology  managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, reservoirs, estuaries and the sea.