Partners of the Big Waterways Clean Up 2012 are: London Waterways Commission, Thames21, Environment Agency, LOCOG, Greater London Authority, British Waterways, Olympic Park Legacy Company, Port of London Authority, London Councils, City of London Corporation, and the Inland Waterways Association.
The London Waterways Commission (LWC) has been established by the Mayor of London to advise the Mayor strategically on waterways issues and to support the implementation of the Blue Ribbon Network policies within the London Plan.
The Environment Agency is an executive non departmental public body responsible to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food 
and Rural Affairs. Its principal aims are to protect and improve the environment, and to promote sustainable development. The Environment Agency’s involvement with projects such as the Big Waterways Clean Up 2012 is an example of its partnership work with other organisations to get a job done in priority locations such as East London, where the project is building on the environmental legacy work already achieved in preparation for the Olympic Games 2012.
London 2012 Changing Places Programme
The communities of east London are some of the most diverse and dynamic in the world, but they are unfortunately also some of the most deprived in Europe, suffering from a range of social, economic and environmental problems. Taking inspiration from the Olympic Park’s regeneration, the Changing Places programme was created to support the community to tackle the issues they face, provide an opportunity to get involved in London 2012, and extend the benefits of the Games far beyond the boundaries of the Olympic Park.
Our aims are simple:
- Inspire communities to improve public spaces – for example our parks, open spaces and watersides;
- Enable people to learn new interests and skills; and
- Improve the environmental quality of our communities around the Games-time venues and beyond, to create long-lasting change.
Capital Clean-up is a partnership campaign led by the Mayor of London as part of his Team London volunteering programme to help Londoners green and clean our city. Our objectives are to:
- Make the capital a cleaner, safer and greener place for the 2012 Games and beyond, and
- Increase volunteering across London by encouraging Londoners to get involved in the cleanliness of their local environment
The campaign is now in its fifth year of helping London communities take part in the maintenance of the places where they live and work. So far, we have coordinated over 1,000 clean-up events led by community groups, members of the public and local authorities.
British Waterways cares for the nation’s 200-year old network of inland waterways, including 100 miles of canals and rivers and 110
acres of docks in London. The nation’s networks of canals and rivers attract over 13 million people each year for walking, cycling, angling, boating or simply the peace and quiet. In April 2012, waterways in England and Wales will leave state control to become the Canal & River Trust in England and Glandwr Cymru in Wales. This exciting new charity will attract new investment and give local people a greater role in how their waterways are run. www.britishwaterways.co.uk
The Olympic Park Legacy Company is a not-for-profit regeneration body responsible for the long term planning, 
development, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park and its facilities after the London 2012 Games. The Legacy Company is a funding partner of the Big Waterway’s Clean Up 2012 because this project helps us support excellent partnership working to deliver significant environmental, social and physical benefits through the waterways in and around the Olympic Park. This project forms the pilot of a volunteer Timebank model that the Legacy Company plans to establish across the whole Park after the Games.
The Port of London Authority covers 95 miles of the River Thames. It works to keep commercial and leisure users safe, protect and enhance the environment and promote the use of the river for trade and travel.
The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse organisation. It supports and promotes the City as the world leader in international finance and business services and provides local services and policing for those working in, living in and visiting the Square Mile. It also provides valued services to London and the nation. These include the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama; the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery and London Metropolitan Archive; a range of education provision (including three City Academies); five Thames bridges (including Tower Bridge and the Millennium Bridge); the Central Criminal Court at Old Bailey; over 10,000 acres of open spaces (including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest), and three wholesale food markets. It is also London’s Port Health Authority and runs the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. It works in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on the regeneration of surrounding areas and the City Bridge Trust, which it oversees, which donates more than £15m to charity annually.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity, founded in 1946, which advocates the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways for public benefit. We campaign and lobby for support and encourage public participation in the inland waterways. IWA actively supports waterway restoration and through its volunteering organisation, Waterway Recovery Group, More than 500 miles of canals and navigable rivers have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded in 1946. Currently another 500 miles of derelict inland waterways are the subject of restoration plans. IWA is organised into 35 local branches covering geographical areas of the country, through which volunteers coordinate activities as diverse as policing planning applications likely to be detrimental to the waterway corridor, providing engineering expertise to local waterway societies, raising money for restoration schemes and educating the public on the value and benefits of their local waterways.
In addition to this work, IWA also manages the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation which it saved from closure in 2005.
