Predecessor British Waterways Region served Scotland | Headquarters Glasgow | |
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Motto Destinations for leisure, sport and investment. Formation 2 July 2012 (2012-07-02) Type Government-owned corporation | ||
Scottish Canals is the public corporation of the Scottish Government responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division of British Waterways, it became a stand-alone public body of the Scottish Government on 2 July 2012. Legally, the corporation is still referred to as the British Waterways Board, but in all other aspects it uses the brand Scottish Canals and intends to steadily roll out this brand over the network.
Based in Glasgow, Scottish Canals runs the Caledonian, Crinan, Forth and Clyde, Monkland and Union Canals. It cares for 137 miles (220 km) of waterway network in total, including 17 reservoirs and the navigation rights to four lochs, including Loch Ness.
Status
Her Majesty's Government, which has responsibility for inland waterways in England and Wales, decided that the British Waterways division in those countries should become a charitable trust, the Canal & River Trust. However, the Scottish Government decided that canals in Scotland would remain publicly owned and British Waterways will continue to operate in Scotland as a statutory corporation trading as Scottish Canals. The Scottish Government is considering how Scottish Canals could work alongside Scottish Water, which is also publicly owned.