Essex Waterways Accountability

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Essex Waterways Ltd is a trading subsidiary company of The Inland Waterways Association, a registered charity that campaigns for the preservations, conservation, restoration and development of the inland waterways of Great Britain.

As a private company, Essex Waterways Ltd is bound by the requirements of the Companies Acts, although it also tries to act in the best interests of the waterway and for the benefit of the public. Any surplus funds that are made at the end of each year's trading are passed to The Inland Waterways Association, and are placed in a Restricted Fund that can only be spent on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, as part of IWA's charitable purpose.

The Annual Report and Financial Statements of Essex Waterways Ltd are available from Companies House, and also below:

Essex Waterways Ltd is managed by a board of directors, each appointed for a term of three years (eligible for reappointment), by the trustees of The Inland Waterways Association. The current directors are:
- Roy Chandler (chairman) [retired, formerly with a local authority background in planning and architecture]
- David Carrington [member of IWA's Finance Committee]
- Colin Edmond [former navigation manager]
- Neil Edwards [chief executive of The Inland Waterways Association]
- Craig Holliday [Performance and Process Support Manager with Northumbrian Water]
- Jim Jenkins [retired, former project manager and engineer with Northumbrian Water]
- John Pomfret [environmental consultant with Entec UK]
None of the directors receives any remuneration from Essex Waterways Ltd.

Day-to-day management of the Navigation is in the hands of the employees and volunteers, headed by David Hewitt, the Navigation Manager.

Recent minutes of the board meetings of Essex Waterways Ltd are available in the meeting minutes section. These have been edited to remove confidential information relating to commercial matters and personnel.

Informal meetings are held for users of the Navigation to attend from time to time. This is a useful forum to exchange views and maintain good communication between those concerned with the waterway. Notes of the most recent meetings are available.

There is also a quarterly Boaters Newsletter, mailed direct to all boaters on the Navigation.

The Company's Health & Safety Policy and Roles and Responsibilities within that policy are also available here.