Canal leisure activities will be protected - council

Leisure activities on Basingstoke Canal will continue to operate, the council said

Leisure activities such as camping and boat hire along the Basingstoke Canal will continue after a management transfer.

The future looked uncertain for recreation services along the 32-mile (51km) canal after a report found they were not financially viable.

But Hampshire County Council has agreed to “future proof” the waterway and transfer responsibility to Surrey County Council from April 2024.

Councillor Russell Oppenheimer, executive member for the countryside and regulatory services, told BBC Radio Surrey people are "right to care passionately" about the waterway.

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the canal is important for flood management and home to many significant species of birds, fish and insects - including 25 different species of dragonfly.

It stretches from West Byfleet in Surrey to Greywell in Hampshire and has been run by both authorities for more than 30 years.

They created the Basingstoke Canal Authority (BCA) in the 1990s and split management between the two county councils.

Under the new proposal The Mytchett Centre, which provides boat hire, cafeteria, and community activities, will be directly managed by Surrey County Council instead of the BCA.

Hampshire County Council officers said the public won’t see any changes to how services are delivered, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The canal centre at Mytchett will come under the direct management of Surrey County Council

Mr Oppenheimer said he was “pleased” there will be no cuts to services and “everything will continue” as normal.

He said: “This is really a change to the governance arrangements to try and streamline saving money, make it more efficient and make sure we can continue to let navigation in the short term.

"The canal has lots of benefits and people can be reassured that those benefits will continue to be available to our communities."

A proposal to introduce car parking fees is under consultation, which ends on 31 March.

Surrey County Council will review the management transfer proposal on 26 March.