Historic Canals Re-Emerge as 21st Century Climate Infrastructure to fight drought
Buckingham Canal Society urges inclusion in regional water strategy as drought grips half of England
BUCKINGHAM, UK — As drought grips half of England for the third time in five years (2022, 2025, 2026) and national reservoir storage drops to 72 percent—nearly 10 percent below long-term averages—historic waterways are re-emerging as nationally significant climate resilience infrastructure. The Buckingham Canal Society (BCS) is calling on government agencies and Anglian Water to formally integrate canal restoration into the regional WRMP29 water strategy alongside major infrastructure initiatives.
Positioned alongside proven dual-use schemes like Wales’ iconic Llangollen Canal—which has been transferring water for 70 years at a proven rate of 60 million litres daily, supplying water to over 330,000 people in Cheshire—and the Cotswold Canals transfer proposal, the restoration of the Buckingham Arm (Cosgrove to Buckingham) offers a low-energy, gravity-fed transfer corridor. The restored route will enable water movement between the Ouse Valley and Mid-Shires resource zones, directly supporting Anglian Water’s 30-mile Ouse Valley Water Corridor concept.
“Everyone knows the drought is acute. The solutions already exist—canals like the Llangollen prove it. And they’re already working. The Buckingham Arm restoration can be part of the answer,” said Terry Cavender, CEO of Buckingham Canal Society. “Canals are not competing with modern water infrastructure—they’re complementary to it. The 19th-century engineers who built these waterways understood water scarcity. We are not reinventing them; we are integrating them directly into modern climate resilience planning.”
Specialist engineering consultants Mott MacDonald are currently reviewing the Buckingham Arm proposal for Anglian Water. Beyond basic water security, the restored canal delivers layered co-benefits: acting as a flood buffer during extreme rainfall, providing natural wetland water filtration, supplying non-potable water for industry, and creating secondary reservoir basins through aligned gravel extraction supporting Oxford–Cambridge housing development.
The Grand Union Canal Transfer scheme—which would move up to 115 million litres of water a day from Birmingham through the Coventry, Oxford and Grand Union canals to supply-deficit areas in the South East, and is currently progressing through the Development Consent Order process—demonstrates that major canal-based water infrastructure is both proven and necessary. Similar water transfer schemes are currently under development across the UK, including via the Fossdyke and Witham Navigations, the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, and other regional corridors. The Buckingham Arm restoration follows this proven model, offering multi-benefit delivery within Anglian Water’s WRMP29 and the broader Oxford-Cambridge corridor strategy.
Cross-party parliamentary momentum is building rapidly behind the initiative. Labour MPs Callum Anderson (Buckingham & Bletchley) and Chris Curtis (MK North) have recognised the project’s strategic infrastructure value. Conservative MPs Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) and Stuart Andrew (Daventry) have endorsed innovative approaches to water supply such as canal-based restoration. Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) is visiting the Cosgrove site on 6 August to inspect the multi-benefit proposal first-hand. BCS is now calling for joint investment in Phase 1 restoration and detailed hydrological modelling.
NOTES TO EDITORS / BACKGROUND DETAIL
About Buckingham Canal Society: BCS (CIO 1156662) is a registered charity leading the restoration of the Buckingham Arm of the Grand Union Canal. Partnering with the Canal & River Trust, Environment Agency, and Anglian Water, BCS transitions heritage assets into nationally significant water infrastructure. The project aligns with government national water security priorities and forms a critical component of regional resilience within the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor development framework.
Strategic Water Transfer Precedents: Navigable channels across the UK actively supply regional networks. Wales’ Llangollen Canal supplies 60 million litres daily to Hurleston Reservoir, providing essential water security for regional networks. The Grand Union Canal Transfer and other canal-based schemes demonstrate proven capacity at scale.
Key Infrastructure Benefits: Canal transfer offers low-pumping energy expenditure, existing rights-of-way that streamline planning approval, and multi-objective value including flood mitigation, biodiversity, and regional leisure economy.
Media Contact: Terry Cavender, CEO — Buckingham Canal Society
Email: terry.cavender@buckinghamcanal.org.uk | Tel: 07764 623762