The Waterways Ombudsman considers complaints about its member organisations, currently, the Avon Navigation Trust and the Canal & River Trust (and any of its subsidiaries), the member organisations.

The Waterways Ombudsman is a service which the member organisations voluntarily subscribe to. It’s not a statutory scheme like some ombudsman schemes are, which means that the member trusts are not required by law or regulatory rules to operate such a scheme. They choose to do so in order to provide an additional level of support to users of their services who are unhappy with their interaction or experience of the member trusts.

This service is entirely free of charge to users but is funded by contributions from the member trusts. The Waterways Ombudsman service is overseen by an independent committee which selects and appoints the Ombudsman to manage the service and investigate complaints.

The Ombudsman can only consider complaints about the member organisations, and only once you have exhausted the complaints procedures offered by the Trust. You then have 12 months to refer your concerns to the Ombudsman to investigate.

Once the Ombudsman has accepted the complaint, investigated, and then issued a final outcome decision, we are unable to consider the matter again.

This website includes a guide to making a complaint and a form for you to complete if you have a matter to refer.

The Ombudsman is John Withington. He was appointed by The Waterways Ombudsman Committee on 1st July 2024 and will serve a minimum 5-year term.

He is supported in running the organisation by a committee, chaired by Lesley Horton. The committee is made up of industry experts and volunteers who represent users of the waterways.