Canal & River Trust

  • EASENHALL CUTTING: Now open

    EASENHALL CUTTING: Now open

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    EASENHALL Cutting on the Oxford Canal has reopened to navigation while a major repair project by the Canal & River Trust continues. After a period of intense rainfall in early February an estimated 4000 tonnes of the 18m cutting slipped into the canal. Trust teams worked through difficult conditions, with continued wet weather saturating the…

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  • CANAL RESTORATION: Underway in Staveley

    CANAL RESTORATION: Underway in Staveley

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    THE Chesterfield Canal Trust celebrated the start of its latest phase of restoration with a groundbreaking ceremony at Staveley. Lee Rowley MP, Toby Perkins MP and Coun Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and vice-chairman of the Staveley Town Deal Board, were joined by Tony Mitchell, a director of O’Brien Construction Ltd and Peter…

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  • COSTLY! Bridge repairs prompts ‘slow down’ plea

    COSTLY! Bridge repairs prompts ‘slow down’ plea

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    MOTORISTS are being urged to slow down and take more care when crossing historic hump-back bridges that span the canal network.  The call comes as the Canal & River Trust completes a £100,000 project to repair the latest damage to the parapet of Barrow Bridge in Derbyshire when brickwork was knocked into the Trent &…

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  • ROWED HOME: Swedish lifeboat after 155 years

    ROWED HOME: Swedish lifeboat after 155 years

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    A 19th CENTURY lifeboat has been rowed across the Thames to Limehouse Basin in London, site of the yard where she was built.  There, a commemorative plaque was unveiled to mark the visit and the RNLI’s 200th anniversary. Unveiling the plaque, Canal & River Trust chairman David Orr said: “The return of Lifbåt 416, built…

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  • Wigrams Turn Waterside & Marina launches new residential moorings

    Wigrams Turn Waterside & Marina launches new residential moorings

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    AQUAVISTA has just announced its latest marina to be awarded full residential status. Wigrams Turn Waterside & Marina on the junction of the Oxford and Grand Union Canals in Warwickshire now have brand-new residential moorings for sale for both wide beams and narrowboats. Aquavista’s residential mooring package includes a registered UK postal address and post box, a 2000L Keter…

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  • Volunteers’ Week spotlight on Wilts & Berks Canal

    Volunteers’ Week spotlight on Wilts & Berks Canal

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    A WILTSHIRE volunteer is supporting a national campaign that encourages people to get more involved in their communities. Howard Wilson, from Semington, is a member of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust which aims to restore the former waterway through the local countryside. He joined the Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the charity seven years ago…

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  • Three-month recovery high and YouTube rescue videos

    Three-month recovery high and YouTube rescue videos

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    Unprecedented rainfall levels, water surges and numerous flood warnings resulted in River Canal Rescue (RCR) responding to more major incidents in the first three months of this year, than it did for the whole of 2023. Between January and March, its teams responded to 155 major incidents (emergency situations either involving submerged, partially sunken or…

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  • Busy season for Grantham volunteers

    Busy season for Grantham volunteers

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    GRANTHAM Canal Society work parties are well into their busy season and have been making good progress on maintenance and restoration projects. Volunteers have attended chainsaw training to allow them to clear self-set trees along the canal bank, Lock 16 has had a fresh lick of paint and work on Lock 13 is well underway.…

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  • Restoration projects update

    Restoration projects update

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    THE Annual Waterway Restoration Conference attracted more than 100 delegates this April. The event, jointly organised by the Inland Waterways Association and Canal & River Trust, was opened by Julie Sharman, chief operating officer at Canal & River Trust. The theme this year focused on inclusion, collaboration, training, skills and sustainable planning. Keynote speakers included Eoin Harris…

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  • Boost to Grand Western Canal visitor experience

    Boost to Grand Western Canal visitor experience

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    VISITORS to the Grand Western Canal Country Park can now benefit from a range of new facilities to help them make the most of a trip to this charming waterway in mid-Devon. The canal visitor centre now features two new video display screens, each playing a choice of several short film clips, including some spectacular…

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  • Black Sluice Lock marks 15 years in service

    Black Sluice Lock marks 15 years in service

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    THE Black Sluice Lock in Lincolnshire has now been in service for 15 years since its official opening on Friday, March 20, 2009. Following the demolition of the old lock and the fixed sluice, a new lock was constructed on the River Witham tideway at the south end of the Black Sluice complex, marking the…

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  • Boaters march on CRT office in licence fee protest

    Boaters march on CRT office in licence fee protest

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    HUNDREDS of boaters took to the towpath of Paddington Basin in London to demonstrate against the Canal & River Trust’s licence fee increases. They were also protesting at plans to introduce differential pricing based on mooring status. Activists from the boater community were joined on Easter Saturday by members of other groups in solidarity, including…

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  • Date for Robbie’s diary as he opens ecology park

    Date for Robbie’s diary as he opens ecology park

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    THE Lichfield Canal at Darnford Moors Ecology Park has been officially opened by TV’s Robbie Cumming, following its completion by Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (LHCRT). This 0.5km section of canal was completed thanks to a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with match funding from HS2’s Community and Environment Fund (CEF)…

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  • Business body backs campaign for waterways funding

    Business body backs campaign for waterways funding

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    BRITISH Marine recently joined other members of Fund Britain’s Waterways for a meeting with the Canal & River Trust chief executive Richard Parry and his senior team at Hatton Locks. The trade association, whose members come from a broad range of boating businesses, is one of 120 organisations backing the FBW campaign to protect all…

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