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15 years of lottery funding boosts the waterways

29th Oct 2009

This autumn the National Lottery celebrates its 15th anniversary. Thousands of people regularly buy a lottery ticket which generates £25million every week for good causes. It's thanks to lottery players that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been able to support nearly 30,000 projects - to the tune of £4.3billion - the biggest concentrated investment ever made into the UK's heritage.

This includes vital funding for national institutions, historic houses, museums and galleries, public parks, wildlife and of course our waterways.

British Waterways has benefited from over £42million of Heritage Lottery Fund money for a wide range of exciting projects including the restoration of the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Anderton Boat Lift, Stourport Canal Basins and Foxton Locks.

Other lottery-funded projects include the restoration of the Droitwich Canals, recording the heritage of the BCN, the Trent Vale Landscape Partnership and the restoration of various historic working boats.

In September this year, Stourport Canal Basins won a further £2,000 at the televised National Lottery Awards – when they were voted the UK’s favourite lottery-funded heritage project.

So remember, the next time you buy a lottery ticket, you could win a million! But if not, you’ve still helped all manner of waterway-related good causes.

Last updated: 29/10/2009