HC Deb 17 April 1978 vol 948 c3W
Mr. Peter Walker

asked the Minister of Transport how many miles of navigable canals there were in 1945, 1955, 1965 and 1977, or for the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.

Mr. Denis Howell

I have been asked to reply.

It is not possible to give reliable figures for 1945, and there are difficulties about producing strictly comparable figures for subsequent years. But approximate figures for navigable canals, excluding river navigations, now under the ownership of the British Waterways Board are:

1948 1,769 miles
(the first year in which statistics were published by the British Transport Commission and not strictly comparable with later years)
1955 1,530 miles
1965 1,308 miles
1977 1,405 miles

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