Sign the open letter for the Montgomery Canal

The Montgomery Canal, in Wales, is one of Montgomeryshire’s most precious wildlife sites, as well as being one of the most important canals for nature in all of the UK. Yet it is under threat.

Despite the best efforts of Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust and members of the local community to find a positive and sustainable future for the Montgomery Canal, plans for a major restoration project on the Welsh section are still underway. While some restoration is needed, other parts of the plan will not allow nature to recover.

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) – a designation given to the most important sites in the UK for wildlife that are also of international significance – the canal is home to the largest and most extensive population of internationally rare, Floating Water-plantain in Britain. It also supports other rare or unusual aquatic plants and insects including species of damselflies and dragonflies.

Part of the restoration plan is to allow the use of motorised boats on the canal. This would be disastrous for its wildlife. Permitting this sort of damage on a Special Area of Conservation would also set a dangerous precedent for decision making within Wales, especially since Powys County Council declared a Nature Emergency in 2022 and should therefore be taking action to halt the worrying decline in nature and biodiversity, rather than taking action which will only accelerate this loss further.

But the value of the Montgomery Canal is about so much more than the presence of certain, albeit rare, wildlife species, that, while important, many people will not have seen. It is about its wider value for all nature, from swans to kingfishers, otters to grass snakes, which rely on it as home, nesting site, feeding ground, shelter and a means of moving around safely.

It’s also about its value to people for leisure, pleasure and wellbeing – as somewhere they can walk, run, cycle, bird-watch, practice photography or just connect with the natural world, precisely because it’s a peaceful haven for nature. At a time when water pollution is widespread, habitat and biodiversity are being lost at an alarming rate – nearly 20 percent of our bees, birds, trees and other wildlife have been lost since 1970 – such wildlife-rich places need our protection more than ever.

We’re calling on decision makers to act now before everything that makes the Montgomery Canal so important for wildlife and people is lost forever.

Thank you.