Do You Have the Will To Help Keep the Basingstoke Canal Alive?

Published on: 19 Nov, 2024
Updated on: 20 Nov, 2024

By David Reading

The Basingstoke Canal Society, a charity of 270 volunteers, has launched a scheme to help supporters write new wills or review existing ones free of charge.

The Dragon reported in March that the canal, which runs from West Byfleet to Greywell through Mytchett and Ash Vale, has suffered a severe reduction in funding to support its upkeep and the canal society faces a real challenge to keep the waterway alive and open for future generations.

The society relies on donations, and its latest scheme sees it partnering with will writers Kept Assets. Free Will Month is running through to the end of November.

The canal is a valuable green resource for many thousands of residents, families, runners, cyclists, nature enthusiasts, anglers, tourists and boaters.

The society says: “A gift in your will could help protect the Basingstoke Canal for many generations to come. As a charity we rely on donations from those who enjoy and value the Basingstoke Canal to help us continue to our work and campaign for its sustainable future.

“While this offer is without obligation, it also gives the opportunity to leave a gift in your will to help preserve the Basingstoke Canal for future generations. Gifts in wills can also be very tax efficient for the beneficiaries of the will.

“If you do not currently have a will then Kept Assets will write a simple will for you free of charge If you already have a will then Kept Assets will review your existing will free of charge.”

To enquire further, contact Kept Assets on 01635 959 111 or email grant@keptassets.com. Quote code BCS001 and ask for a meeting with Grant Notman.

The canal is owned by Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council, with the Basingstoke Canal Authority acting as the managing agents for the waterway.

The canal was in private ownership and semi-derelict by the early 1960s. Then a letter to a newspaper from a local resident sparked the formation of the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society.

After many years of restoration, the canal was officially reopened by the Duke of Kent in 1991.

The Basingstoke Canal Society now promotes the canal as a navigable waterway, general amenity, part of our heritage and as host to a wealth of wildlife. It supports the canal through fundraising, work parties and other voluntary efforts, and it aims to secure a sustainable future for the canal, to prevent it from falling into dereliction again