Canal & River Trust

  • BOATING CHILDREN: Education access issues

    BOATING CHILDREN: Education access issues

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    Lucy Wood reports… Calls are being made for the creation of a charter to protect the right of the children of constant cruisers to a reasonable journey time to school. It comes as a mass survey of water users revealed that hundreds of boaters are missing out on access to vital services such as healthcare…

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  • GOVERNMENT: CRT asks to ‘properly support’ vital work

    GOVERNMENT: CRT asks to ‘properly support’ vital work

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    Tim Greenfield reports… THE Canal and River Trust is hoping to form a positive partnership with the new Labour Government to secure its long-term funding and halt the possibility of canal closures. It is hoping ministers will see the benefits of the waterways and agree to support its maintenance and renovation programme to stop them…

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  • WINTER RENOVATION: Dozens of sites targeted

    WINTER RENOVATION: Dozens of sites targeted

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    Tim Greenfield reports… WORKERS from the Canal and River Trust are poised to start a massive programme of renovation work next month. The organisation is planning repairs and conservation projects across the waterway network from November to March and is hoping there will be minimal disruption to boaters. Work, which includes installing new lock gates…

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  • DIVERS NEEDED for lock repair

    DIVERS NEEDED for lock repair

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    Lucy Wood reports… Divers were brought in by the Canal and River Trust to help make repairs to the Grade II listed Weston Lock, on the River Avon just outside Bath. The lock, which is almost 300 years old, is one of 104 between Bristol and the River Thames at Reading which make up the…

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  • WEEDS: Weevils fight back in £1m war

    WEEDS: Weevils fight back in £1m war

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    A hungry natural enemy has been released into the waterways in a bid to munch a path for boaters and help wildlife. Tim Greenfield reports… THE Canal & River Trust believes 20,000 azolla-eating weevils introduced this year will help free up the most weed-clogged waterways in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands. The battle in…

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  • AQUATIC WEEDS! UK conference to be held

    AQUATIC WEEDS! UK conference to be held

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    A conference dedicated to the control of invasive weeds will examine the impact of aquatic weeds on Britain’s waterways and how best to deal with their problems. The Property Care Association’s (PCA) 2024 International Invasive Weed Conference (IIWC2024) will feature, for the first time, a session dedicated to ‘aquatic invasives’, with expert speakers from a…

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  • MISSING OUT: That’s boaters on vital public services

    MISSING OUT: That’s boaters on vital public services

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    Tim Greenfield reports… HUNDREDS of boaters are missing out on access to vital services such as healthcare, education and banks. Waterway users say many central and local government agencies just aren’t able to deal with people who don’t have a permanent address – leaving many falling through the cracks and suffering in the process. Boaters…

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  • SNAP UP a waterways calendar for charity

    SNAP UP a waterways calendar for charity

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    Thirteen images have been chosen to appear in River Canal Rescue’s 2025 calendar (front cover and one for every month), which goes on sale later this year to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. THE competition attracted more than 375 entries, which the judges – RCR managing director Stephanie Horton, Canal Boat editor Charlie Waters…

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  • RIBBLE LINK: Undergoing maintenance

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    LANCASHIRE’S Ribble Link, which connects the Lancaster Canal to the national waterways network, is undergoing vital maintenance to allow it to reopen for boats. Engineers from the Canal & River Trust discovered that a seal around the Sea Lock Gate at the entrance to the link, which should be watertight, was causing too much water…

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  • REPAIRS: Underway at Swing Bridge

    REPAIRS: Underway at Swing Bridge

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    A SIX-WEEK programme of repairs to Sellars Swing Bridge, which carries Sellars Road over the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, is under way. Over the years, vehicles have become heavier, which has affected the condition of the bridge, which connects Hardwicke and Quedgeley with Elmore. The Canal & River Trust is making improvements that will strengthen…

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  • GREEN FLAG STATUS for waterways

    GREEN FLAG STATUS for waterways

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    Almost 750 miles of waterways managed by the Canal & River Trust have been honoured with the prestigious Green Flag status by Keep Britain Tidy. CANAL & River Trust has retained all its existing 736 miles of Green Flags, with waterways maintaining the standard required for the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.…

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  • ‘INHUMANE’ RULES: NBTA want rethink

    ‘INHUMANE’ RULES: NBTA want rethink

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    The National Bargee Travellers’ Association, which represents thousands of itinerant UK boat dwellers, calls for end to the Canal and River Trust’s current enforcement policy. THE trust which manages most of the UK’s inland waterways has published the full results of its Boater Census first conducted in 2022, which highlights the issues and challenges faced…

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  • FOXTON LOCKS: Car park improvements

    FOXTON LOCKS: Car park improvements

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    THE Canal & River Trust has been improving car parking at Foxton Locks in Leicestershire, making it easier for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to visit the historic site. As part of the proposed upgrade, the charity is installing an ANPR system, which will enable people to park their vehicles and pay when…

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  • REPLACED: Ageing safety gate

    REPLACED: Ageing safety gate

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    A £50,000 project has seen a deteriorating safety gate on the Shropshire Union Canal at Knighton make way for a handcrafted replacement. The Canal & River Trust carried out the work at the historic wharf in June, replacing the ageing gate with one made in the charity’s specialist workshop. Between 1911 and 1961, Cadbury’s used…

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