Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
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Inland Waterways

Photograph of barge on canal
Under its Corporate Strategy commitment to develop the recreational potential of inland waterways, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's Inland Waterways Division administers an annual Province-wide Water Recreation Programme.  Through this Programme applicants, such as Local Authorities, are encouraged to work in partnership with the Department in providing and promoting water recreation facilities such as riverside paths and boat moorings for public use.  Wherever practicable, works will incorporate disabled access facilities.

The Department also has ownership of, and custodial responsibility for, those remaining sections of the Lagan and Coalisland Canals that remain in Government ownership following abandonment of navigation in the 1950s.  An ongoing programme is in place for each of these highly popular towpaths to upgrade access for pedestrians, cyclists and disabled access.

The Department is also the sponsor department in Northern Ireland for Waterways Ireland, Opens new window which is the Cross-Border Body responsible for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of operational waterways throughout the island of Ireland.
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