----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Wood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2007 9:39 AM Subject: [canals-list] Government considers £1bn sale of waterways - The Times
> From The Times > May 24, 2007 > > Government considers £1bn sale of waterways > > Siobhan Kennedy and James Rossiter > > The Government is considering a billion pound-plus sale of the country's > canals and waterways. > British Waterways, the government-controlled body responsible for 2,200 > miles of canals and rivers in the UK, is running a beauty parade of banks > with a view to kick-starting a strategic review in the summer. The review > will examine all options for the business, including a sale of all or > parts > of the portfolio, a possible stock market listing or other partnership or > funding structures. > > A sale could raise as much as £1 billion for the Treasury. > > British Waterways is sitting on a property goldmine that includes all the > towpaths and land alongside the canals. The company last valued its > portfolio at more than £500 million, but that figure could more than > double > over the coming years as it shares the spoils of housing and office > regeneration schemes on its land. snipped Nice to know that what we think of as a National Heritage Defra and BW think of as a building site. I am not at all surprised. The canals should become a National Park. Sue nb Nackered Navvy
