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About us

Essex Waterways manages and maintains the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation as a subsidiary company of The Inland Waterways Association. Essex Waterways Ltd took over the management of the Navigation in 2005, in order to save the waterway from closing.  

Accountability

Essex Waterways Ltd is a non-profit-making trading subsidiary company of The Inland Waterways Association, a registered charity that campaigns for the preservation, 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 passed up to the parent charity are held in a designated fund, with the intent that they are spent on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, in accordance with IWA’s charitable purposes, in future years.

Who we are

The directors of Essex Waterways

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
  • David Carrington
  • Colin Edmond
  • Neil Edwards – Company Secretary
  • Craig Holliday
  • Jim Jenkins
  • John Pomfret

Work with us

Spend your days by our waterway and work for the beautiful 14-mile Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation.

There are no vacancies at present, but we usually have opportunities for seasonal staff each summer.