Founding trustees have been appointed to a new waterways charity, which is to take over the management of canals, rivers and docks across England and Wales from April 2012.

British Waterways (BW) chair Tony Hales has been selected to chair the charity, following recommendations made by the Advisory Panel on First Appointments and Transition. Other trustees put forward by the panel to waterways minister Richard Benyon include BW vice chair John Bridgeman and English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley.

WRVS chief executive Lynne Berry; Oxfam HR director Jane Cotton; and former chair of the Commercial Boat Operators Association, John Dodwell, have been named as trustees. Ramblers chief executive Tom Franklin and BW board member Nigel Hugill are also to be founding trustees of the waterways charity.

Hales said: "A mix of five new trustees and three from British Waterways' existing board will inject new energy and ideas as we set up the new waterways charity."