Basingstoke Canal

", these £100 shares crashed to £30 in 1800 and £5 in 1834.</small>]] | repeal_date = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = Amended | original_text = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FcAuAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA167 | collapsed = yes }} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An act for effectually carrying into execution an act of parliament of the eighteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty, for making a navigable canal from the town of Basingstoke, in the county of Southampton, to communicate with the river Wey, in the parish of Chertsey, in the county of Surrey, and to the south east side of the turnpike road, in the…

Two sections of the canal totalling 101.3 ha are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site. These are the main length between Greywell and Brookwood Lye, and a short stretch between Monument Bridge and Scotland Bridge in Woking. It is the most botanically-rich aquatic area in England and flora include the nationally scarce hairlike pondweed and the nationally scarce tasteless water-pepper. The site is also nationally important for its invertebrates. There are 24 species of dragonfly and other species include two nationally rare Red Data Book insects. Eastwards from the mid point of the canal, it is surrounded by large areas of heathland. These are habitats…

The canal is owned by both Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council, with each authority owning the land within their jurisdiction. Until 1990, the two councils managed their own sections separately. It was decided that a central body should manage the entire waterway and the Basingstoke Canal Authority was formed. In 1993, the canal visitor centre at Mytchett was opened which now also acts as the central offices of the canal authority. The canal authority staff are employed, administered and supported by Hampshire County Council; however, the centre belongs to Surrey County Council. Each county council allocates revenue money to the canal authority, as well as the six riparian…