A Waterway Park for all

Welcome to the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Park

The Waterway Park is an ambitious project to link the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse in Bedford. Just 16 miles (26Km) in length it will have a huge regional impact creating a waterway park and establishing a green corridor right at the heart of future developments on the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, a legacy for future generations.

The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust is a charity and company limited by guarantee. It was established in 1995 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”.

Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park needs local support during Oxford to Cambridge Arc Public Consultation phase

The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust is asking local residents and wider supporters for their help in putting the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park firmly on the Government’s radar during the Oxford to Cambridge Arc Spatial Framework public consultation.

The consultation phase of the Oxford to Cambridge Spatial Arc Framework was launched this summer and offers the ideal opportunity for the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park to stand out as an environmental project that deserves Government attention and investment.

The Trust is asking both local residents and all supporters of the Waterway to register their support at https://placebuilder.io/futureofthearc. This is an online digital questionnaire which is asking for people’s views. In particular, the Trust would like supporters to focus on the section which looks at improvements to the environment for future generations.

The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park will bring significant new areas of open space and water to the region by linking the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse in Bedford. It will add a new dimension to the Forest of Marston Vale, bringing with it opportunities for new water-based activities as well as providing new parkland, improved wildlife habitats and routes for residents to walk, cycle and run. It will bring in visitors both on and off the water, which in turn will boost tourism in the local economy. We believe this project also has the potential to help manage flood risk in the upper Ouse catchment area and could help transfer water to drier areas of East Anglia. Overall, we believe it will transform our region for the better.

Click here to see the full Press Release