“The government contribution to the maintenance to the canals is not as much as it should be,” said Limbrey.
“They’re part of the history and the landscape of our country, we have stately homes, we have castles, we have many historic structures, Roman remains… that are valued.
“Yet these thousands of miles of canal… a whole network of waterways spreading across our country don’t seem to be valued in the same way as these individual spots are.”
Limbrey said following the collapse, which he described as “shocking” and “devastating”, he saw a lot of commentary about money online.
“The comments that came through were, ‘Why bother with canals, why should money be spent on the canals?'”
“The canal network is such an asset right across the country. It’s got access for so many people for recreation, for wellbeing, it’s got the canalside businesses, it’s got an amazing range of structures, locks and weirs and bridges – all built on the canal 200 years ago.
“All of these things add up to this amazing resource… people can just walk onto the towpath and get on it and enjoy for free, at any time.”