This List of navigation authorities in the United Kingdom is a list of links to any

navigation authority A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river. Rights of a navigation authority Whilst the rights of individual authorities vary, a navigation authority will typically ha ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, relating to any

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

, aqueduct,

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. These include: * narrow canals, broad canals, or ship canals * rivers which have been made navigable *

the Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly use ...

* the navigable drains of

The Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

Examples of navigation authorities

The "Big Three"

* Canal and River Trust – charity replacing British Waterways in managing the majority of the canals and many navigable rivers * Environment Agency – environmental regulatory body, manages its waterways as part of its water management obligations. * Broads Authority – has status similar to other British national parks but alone amongst them also exercises a navigation function. The "

Sandford Principle The Sandford Principle is a concept in the management of protected landscapes in the United Kingdom. It is called the Sandford Principle after Lord Sandford who chaired the National Parks Policy Review Committee which reviewed national parks of Eng ...

" as applied in other national parks does not apply here.

Other authorities

* Local authorities * National park authorities * Trusts Dredger

Navigation authorities in the UK

* Associated British Ports - ABP Humber *

Avon Navigation Trust Avon may refer to: *River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers Organisations *Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England * Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, following ...

( Stratford-on-Avon to

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

) *

Basingstoke Canal The Basingstoke Canal is an English canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation. From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, Dogm ...

Authority *

Beaulieu River The Beaulieu River ( ), formerly known as the River Exe, is a small river draining much of the central New Forest in Hampshire, southern England. The river has many small upper branches and its farthest source is from its -long tidal estuary. ...

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

- Manchester Ship Canal Company in conjunction with the Bridgewater Canal Trust *

Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

Authority * The

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

, formerly

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...

- supported by

grant-in-aid A grant-in-aid is money coming from a central government for a specific project. Such funding is usually used when the government and the legislature decide that the recipient should be publicly funded but operate with reasonable independence ...

from Government *

Broads Authority The Broads Authority is the agency which has statutory responsibility for the Broads in England. Originally, the Nature Conservancy Council (now Natural England), pressed for a special authority to manage the Broads which had been neglected for ...

- a

national park authority A national park authority is a special term used in Great Britain for legal bodies charged with maintaining a national park of which, as of October 2021, there are ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. The powers and duties of all suc ...

* Cambridgeshire Lodes *

Cardiff Harbour Authority Cardiff Harbour Authority (CHA) is the managing authority for Cardiff Bay under the Cardiff Bay Barrage Act 1993, and was established on 1 April 2000. It took over responsibility from Cardiff Bay Development Corporation and is responsible for ...

* Chesterfield Canal Partnership *

City of York Council City of York Council is the municipal governing body of the City of York, a unitary authority in Yorkshire, England. It is composed of 47 councillors, one, two, or three for each of the 21 electoral wards of York. It is responsible for all local ...

* Company of Proprietors of the Chelmer & Blackwater navigation *

Company of Proprietors of the Neath Canal Navigation A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

Company of Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

Conservators of the River Cam The Conservators of the River Cam are the navigation authority for the River Cam in Cambridgeshire and were founded in 1702. History Cambridge had been a major inland port as a result of its position on the navigable River Cam for centuries, b ...

Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

- a Trust Port, Dartmouth * Devon County Council * Driffield Navigation Trust * Droitwich Canals Trust * Environment Agency - supported by grant-in-aid from Government * Essex Waterways Ltd - a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of the

Inland Waterways Association The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. No ...

* Exe Estuary Navigation Authority based at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Exeter City Council Exeter City Council is the council and local government of the city of Exeter, Devon. History Proposed unitary authority status The government proposed that the city should become an independent unitary authority within Devon, much like neighb ...

Gloucester Harbour Trustees The Gloucester Harbour Trustees are the competent harbour authority (CHA) for the tidal part of the River Severn from the Gloucester weirs (Llanthony Llanthony (, cy, Llanddewi Nant Honddu ) is a village in the community of Crucorney on the ...

- a Trust Port * Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust * Hull City Council * Inland Waterways Association subsidiary Essex Waterways Ltd * Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation - River Gipping Trust *

River Ivel The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills. Course The river Ivel has four headwater ...

- Environment Agency and

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

landowners * Lake District National Park Authority *

Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria ( historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never complete ...

's Northern Reaches - various ownerships * Lapal Canal - various ownerships * Little Ouse

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

- Environment Agency / riparian landowners * Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

Manchester Ship Canal Company The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rive ...

- the majority of shares are owned by Peel Ports, a subsidiary of

The Peel Group The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former ports ...

. * Medway Ports *

Middle Level Commissioners The Middle Level Commissioners are a land drainage authority in eastern England. The body was formed in 1862, undertaking the main water level management function within the Middle Level following the breakup of the former Bedford Level Corporati ...

* Neath Canal Navigation,

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid ...

Port of Hull The Port of Hull is a port at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Seaborne trade at the port can be traced to at least the 13th century, originally cond ...

and the River Hull, Associated British Ports * Port of London Authority *

River Dee, Wales The River Dee ( cy, Afon Dyfrdwy, la, Deva Fluvius) is a river in the United Kingdom. It flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries. The river rises in Snowdonia, Wales, flows east via ...

- Environment Agency has harbour authority responsibilities downstream *

River Glen, Lincolnshire The River Glen is a river in Lincolnshire, England with a short stretch passing through Rutland near Essendine. The river's name appears to derive from a Brythonic Celtic language but there is a strong early English connection. Naming In th ...

- Environment Agency * River Great Ouse - Environment Agency * River Hamble Harbour Office *

River Idle The River Idle is a river in Nottinghamshire, England whose source is the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden near Markham Moor. The Idle flows north from its source through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at West ...

- Environment Agency *

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

- Non-tidal: Environment Agency; Tidal: Medway Ports *

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

- Avon and Wiltshire:

Bristol Haven Conservancy Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

* River Severn, Gloucestershire/Herefordshire:

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

- Tidal: Port of Tyne Authority; Non-tidal: various * Scottish waterways - managed by the Scottish Executive and British Waterways Scotland (BWS) * Sedgemoor District Council - as Harbour Authority for the

Port of Bridgwater The Port of Bridgwater is a port, originally located in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Created under an 1845 Act of Parliament, it extends from Brean Down to Hinkley Point in Bridgwater Bay, and parts of the rivers Parrett (to Bridg ...

and the River Parrett *

Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a 12.5 mile (20.1 km) canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, ...

Ulster Canal The Ulster Canal is a canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Canal was built between 1825 and 1842 and was 74 km (46&nb ...

- various, both in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Waterways Ireland Waterways Ireland ( ga, Uiscebhealaí Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Watterweys Airlann'') is one of the six all-Ireland North/South Ministerial Council, North/South implementation bodies established under the Belfast Agreement ...

The Waterways Trust The Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established in 1999, that worked with partners to see the waterway network in England, Wales and Scotland supported, valued and enjoyed by a wide audience. The Trust was formerly registe ...

* The Wey & Arun Canal Trust, Wey & Arun Junction Canal *

Wey and Godalming Navigations The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned ...

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

* Wilts & Berks Canal Trust *

River Witham The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversi ...

- Witham Fourth District Drainage Board

References

{{Reflist

External links

Association of Inland Navigation Authorities websiteInland Waterways Association List of navigation authorities
Water transport in the United Kingdom Waterways organisations in the United Kingdom navigation authorities

Examples of navigation authorities

The "Big Three"

Other authorities

Navigation authorities in the UK

See also

Waterways

Rivers

Canals

Seaports

Other

References

External links