Support from lottery players is helping the Canal & River Trust carry out a vital winter maintenance programme to protect and preserve Britain’s historic canal network during the quieter boating months.
Maintaining the nation’s 250-year-old, man-made waterways is a vast, multi-million-pound undertaking. Each winter, when boat traffic is at its lowest, the trust delivers an extensive programme of major engineering and preservation works designed to keep canals navigable, safe and alive for future generations.
This year’s programme spans 45 canals and rivers across England and Wales, involving 137 individual projects. Work is being carried out at more than 100 locks, alongside repairs to 14 bridges, two tunnels, and numerous embankments, sluices, culverts and canal walls. The programme began in November and is scheduled to run through to March.
A significant element of this work has been made possible thanks to funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which is supporting six major lock gate replacement projects. This funding allows the trust to replace 20 lock gates that have reached the end of their typical 25-year working life.
Each new lock gate is individually designed and hand-built at one of the Canal & River Trust’s two specialist workshops. Skilled craftspeople use traditional techniques to ensure the gates are fit for purpose while remaining faithful to the historic character of the waterways.
The lock gate replacement projects supported by lottery funding include:
- Replacing the bottom gates at City Road Lock on the Regent’s Canal in Islington, London.
- Replacing the top and bottom gates at Ham Lock 87 on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Thatcham, near Newbury, Berkshire.
- Replacing the top gates at Bottom Barge Lock on the Staffordshire & Worcester Canal at Stourport, Worcestershire, scheduled for January and February 2026.
- Replacing the top and bottom gates at Gees Lock 36 on the Grand Union Canal near Leicester, planned between January and March 2026.
- Replacing the top and bottom gates at Lock 12 on the Calder & Hebble Canal at Brighouse, Yorkshire, due to take place from January to March 2026.
- Replacing the top and bottom gates at Lock 87 on the Rochdale Canal in Manchester, scheduled for February to March 2026.
Malcolm Horne, the trust’s chief infrastructure and programmes officer, said winter is when the focus shifts to large-scale engineering projects that are essential for the long-term survival of the waterways.
He explained that canals are centuries-old working heritage and face growing pressures from rising costs, climate change and more extreme weather events, making maintenance more challenging than ever. While millions of people use and visit canals every week, the scale of work required to keep them open and safe often goes unnoticed.
The trust relies on a combination of funding, volunteers, supporters and public backing to carry out this essential work. Without continued investment and support, the future of the canal network — and the benefits it provides for boating, wildlife and communities — would be at risk.
