The Trust is a charity
The Trust is a charity and company limited by guarantee, designed to “ promote and assist in the provision and maintenance of a new waterway and associated facilities and structures connecting the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse at Bedford, for the benefit of local inhabitants and visitors.”
The Board of Trustees/Directors has corporate responsibility for the Trust and its operation in line with company and charity law. Key activities of the Board are to:
- Set long term vision, working closely with partners and the public
- Set two-year and annual plans and budgets, and review these regularly
- Maximise partner and volunteer involvement in and contribution to the project
- Sanction contracts entered into by the Trust and control the finances of the Trust
- Fundraise for, recruit, and manage the work of Trust personnel
Trustees/Directors
 Jane Wolfson |
Jane Wolfson, BA Hons Psychology (Chair) Co-founder and currently Director, LMD Learning Solutions Ltd. Former Chair Milton Keynes Community Health Council and Trustee of Health Matters. |
Don Allison, A.M.I.E.E. (Financial Director) Electrical Engineer retired; Trustee of Buckingham Canal Society; Trustee and MD of the former MK International Festival (a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee), Member of Newport Pagnell Partnership, Parks and Amenities Group; Treasurer of Taverners Boat Club. |
 Don Allison |
 Ian Clifton |
Councillor Ian Clifton (former and Founding Chairman) Deputy Mayor of Bedford; Bedford Borough Councillor – Cabinet Member (Environment Portfolio); Chairman of Sporting Targets, M&S Contractors, Clifton Farms; Bedford Multiple Sclerosis Centre and Bedford Bereavement Care. |
Rodney Evans, MA Cantab Economist and retired company director and administrator; Social Secretary Milton Keynes Branch and Committee Member Grand Junction Region, Inland Waterways Association. |
 Rodney Evans |
 David Fowler |
David Fowler, C Eng., M.I.C.E Retired construction project manager, Deputy President Bedfordshire Valuation Tribunal, Oakley Parish Councillor and Bedford Tour Guide. |
Marilyn Leask, BA, PGCE, MPhil.,PhD Professor of Education, Brunel University. Formerly at the Improvement and Development Agency for local government; and previously £multi-million contracts manager at the government Training and Development Agency for Schools. |
 Marilyn Leask |
 Graham Mabbutt |
Graham Mabbutt Political Assistant, Northamptonshire County Council; former Councillor Milton Keynes Council (Transport & Planning Portfolio); Retired Recording and Music Industry Executive. |
Councillor John Scott Cabinet Member Bedfordshire County Council (Planning & Economic Development Portfolio); Governor of Robert Bloomfield Middle School and Samuel Whitbread Community College, Shefford; Member of Shuttleworth College Management Committee. |
 John Scott |
We work through four committees to achieve results
The Project Partnership (chair Graham Mabbutt) is formed from organisations - charitable, voluntary, statutory or private sector - whose interests lie in or are furthered by the waterway development. Organisations are invited, but do not need, to be members of the Trust. Partner organisations meet 3 times a year to:
- Receive information on project progress to date
- Generate ideas about best ways to progress the project further, including arrangements for support in kind (eg data, contacts, influence, staff time) and in cash.
Volunteers Committee (chair Rodney Evans) is formed from personal members who want to be involved in the project. The committee meets bi-monthly to progress those aspects of plans that can reasonably be undertaken by volunteers, currently:
- Involvement of local communities and waterway/waterside users
- Publicity and awareness raising, including the Trust newsletter and website information, press releases, exhibitions, talks and walks programmes, lobbying activities
- Small practical projects such as waymarking, creating paths, demonstration sites
- Recruiting and involving personal members of the Trust in all its activities
- Fundraising to support the above activities
Project Management Groups West (chair Jane Wolfson) and East (chair Marilyn Leask) Trust Office personnel plus relevant planning authorities, other partners, volunteers, and industry advisers meet as needed to progress planning, funding, design and construction issues. Current priorities are to:
- Secure inclusion of the Waterway in all relevant national, regional and local plans
- Respond to planning applications to maximise opportunities for Waterway development and minimise additional project costs
- Secure commitment and support of landowners along the route
- Scope, fundraise for and manage phased subprojects that will deliver the Waterway
- Formulate contracts and seek competitive tenders for contracted project work for approval by the Board
Top of page
The Trust’s two year plan
The Trust works to a rolling two-year plan set by the Board of Trustees/Directors.
Click here to read a summary of the Trust’s current two-year plan. (PDF document 88Kb)
Our Project Office
Our project staff are based at British Waterways offices in Milton Keynes.
Project Officer: Claire Gathard
Senior Implementation Officer: Richard Wood
Click here if you want further information on the Objects & Rules of the Trust.
