Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

===Closure avoided===
[[File:Dundas Aqueduct, from south-east.jpg|thumb|[[Dundas Aqueduct]] near [[Limpley Stoke]]]]
A group supporting the restoration of the canal had been set up in the early 1950s independently of the [[Inland Waterways Association]], with which it was subsequently merged. In 1955 John Gould, a trader on the eastern section of the waterway, successfully petitioned against the commission's failure to maintain the waterway and obtained damages for loss of business. In March 1956 a clause in the British Transport Commission (no 2) Act was presented to Parliament that would have removed the right of navigation between Reading and Bath. The Act was opposed by Gould and by the local authorities along the canal.<ref name="iwakahist">{{cite web|title=Kennet & Avon Canal |url=http://www.waterways.org.uk/learning/historic_campaigns/kennet___avon_canal |publisher=Inland Waterways Association |access-date=17 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216120633/http://www.waterways.org.uk/learning/historic_campaigns/kennet___avon_canal |archive-date=16 February 2011 }}</ref> They were supported by a 22,000-signature petition to the Queen, brought to London from Bristol by water; parts of the canal had to be traversed by canoe.<ref name="iwakahist"/> This campaign led to an inquiry by a Parliamentary [[Select committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|Select Committee]]. The committee supported the suspension of the right of navigation, and the Bill passed through the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] but was amended by the [[House of Lords]] to include a clause to enforce "no further deterioration". In July 1958, the Bowes Committee published their ''Inquiry into Inland Waterways'' which specifically mentioned the Kennet and Avon finding "no justification for restoring the section from Reading to Bath".<ref name=clew156>{{harvnb |Clew |1985 |p=156}}</ref>

A government [[white paper]] followed the Bowes Report in February 1959, recommending that an Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee should assist schemes to regenerate canals that were no longer able to collect enough fees from tolls to pay for their upkeep. Further reports followed, and in 1962 the Advisory Committee reported that the canal should be redeveloped, and allocated £20,000 for maintenance and £20,000 to begin restoration.<ref name=clew164>{{harvnb |Clew |1985 |p=164}}</ref> The [[Kennet and Avon Canal Trust]] was formed in 1962 to restore the canal from Reading to Bristol as a through navigation and as a public amenity. It was originally a voluntary group which had previously been known as the Kennet and Avon Canal Association. The Trust gained [[Charitable organization|charitable status]] in April and was incorporated under the [[Companies Act 1948|Companies Act]] on 6 June 1962.<ref name=lj41>{{harvnb |Lindley-Jones |2002 |p=41}}</ref> In 1963 the newly formed [[British Waterways]], which was created by the [[Transport Act 1962|Transport Act]] of the previous year, and replaced the British Transport Commission as the statutory body for inland waterways, took over the canal and, in partnership with the Trust and [[Riparian zone|riparian]] local authorities, restoration work began.<ref name="katrade">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2002 |title=Kennet & Avon Canal |url=http://www.katrade.org.uk/canal.htm |website=Kennet & Avon Trade Association |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012095013/http://www.katrade.org.uk/canal.htm |archive-date=12 October 2006 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>