Following the post-war Labour Government nationalisation of the railways and the canals, the Chesterfield Canal became the responsibility of the British Transport Commission. They were determined to close any canals that were not used to carry freight, and did not see any future in leisure use. By 1961, the canal had been formally closed, all requests to use it for leisure purposes were refused, and there were proposals for official abandonment of its entire length. Much of it was filled with rubbish and stagnant water, but despite this, Cliff Clarke, a self-made businessman from South Yorkshire, mounted a campaign to save it. The British Transport Commission agreed to keep the canal open for two more years in 1962, although the lockgates from Worksop to Kiveton were removed, and the lock walls bulldozed, on the grounds of public safety. Clarke formed the Retford and Worksop (Chesterfield Canal) Boat Club soon afterwards, and it became a limited company in 1966, to cope with the growing membership. Unofficial work parties were organised, to clear locks and cut back vegetation and weed; they were unofficial because the British Transport Commission would not allow volunteers to work on their property. Such activity became slightly more collaborative when the canal became the responsibility of the British Waterways Board. Government policy changed following the publication of a White Paper entitled "British Waterways: Recreation and Amenity" in September 1967, and the canal was classified as a "cruiseway" between the Trent and Morse Lock, Worksop under the Transport Act 1968, meaning that it would be maintained to a navigable standard for leisure use. The rest of the canal was classified as "remainder".