The Canal & River Trust

  • Experts to help trust with climate challenges…

    Experts to help trust with climate challenges…

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    WITH the canal network facing the growing challenge of climate change driven storms and floods, the Canal & River Trust will bring in technical experts to make sure its waterways are safe and open. The charity’s in-house team can now call for specialist support to help look after the network’s reservoirs, embankments, cuttings and other structures.…

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  • Boat owners warned: pay up or face a fine

    Boat owners warned: pay up or face a fine

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    A READING-based boat owner has been convicted and fined for failing to register his cruiser for use on the River Thames. Environment Agency officers discovered the unnamed boat moored opposite Reading Marine Services during routine checks last year, Reading magistrates were told. The owner Michael Toner did not attend the hearing. As the boat was…

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  • Getting set for lining and blocking

    Getting set for lining and blocking

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    DELIVERY of building blocks and various liner materials will signal the start of work on the next section of the Montgomery Canal south of Crickheath Tramway. The second Shropshire Union Canal Society work party of the year saw a variety of activities including channel profiling and hedge laying in readiness for the resumption of work…

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  • Black Country event appeals for help

    Black Country event appeals for help

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    ORGANISERS of the popular Black Country Boating Festival are appealing for participants and volunteers to help out. The annual event is being held this year over the long weekend of September 13-15 at Netherton. Co-organiser Ross Harrison, 31, outlined the challenges of running such a large event: “This will be our 38th festival at Windmill…

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  • Birmingham moorings trial prompts boater stay time changes

    Birmingham moorings trial prompts boater stay time changes

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    AFTER a successful six-month trial, the Canal & River Trust is implementing changes to the mooring stay times along the canals in Birmingham city centre. The new times, which were put out to consultation and trialled between July and December 2023, will standardise the stay times at popular mooring spots across the city centre and take…

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  • Upgrade for sliding canal bridge

    Upgrade for sliding canal bridge

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    ENGINEERS from Network Rail recently completed nine days working on the UK’s only sliding canal bridge at Keadby. Keadby Canal’s walls and remove rails and track equipment that had been in place for many years, to install new replacements. Scheme project manager Sean Ellerby said: “The last nine days have seen an incredible amount of…

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  • Before you make that journey

    Before you make that journey

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    The team at River Canal Rescue helps to get you ready for the first cruise of the season with some useful tips and advice… WITH an early Easter this year, you may have already cranked up your engine and undertaken the first cruise of the season. If that’s the case – how prepared were you…

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  • IWA campaigns to save Welsh aqueduct

    IWA campaigns to save Welsh aqueduct

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    A MOVE to demolish Aberdulais Aqueduct, which carries the Tennant Canal over the River Neath, has prompted an angry reaction from the Inland Waterways Association. It has sharply criticised what it calls ‘a lazy proposal’ by Welsh Government quango Natural Resources Wales (NRW) that says it is considering demolishing the scheduled ancient monument. It described…

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  • Work set to start on new canal bridge

    Work set to start on new canal bridge

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    CHESTERFIELD Canal Trust has appointed O’Brien Contractors Ltd to build and install a new bridge over the soon-to-be-restored route of the canal at Staveley, Derbyshire. This will be the first stage of a £6 million restoration project, the bulk of the money coming from the Staveley Town Deal, a government levelling-up project. Describing it as…

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  • Flood defence gates out of action

    Flood defence gates out of action

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    THE sluice mechanism which helps prevent flooding along the Rivers Wissey and Little Ouse in Norfolk and Suffolk is currently not working to full capacity. Levels in the relief channel are remaining higher than usual due to reduced discharge into the tidal river at Tail Sluice. In a recent briefing, the Environment Agency acknowledged that…

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  • Survey Launch: IWA Campaign Seeks Boater Input on 2023 Cruising Experience

    Survey Launch: IWA Campaign Seeks Boater Input on 2023 Cruising Experience

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    As part of IWA’s work in support of the multi-organisation Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW)campaign, a comprehensive survey has been launched aimed at gathering crucial insightsfrom boaters regarding their experiences while cruising in 2023. This initiative is a vitalcomponent of FBW’s ongoing campaign to secure funding for all waterways and navigationauthorities across Great Britain. Boaters are…

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  • Rising costs contribute to canal charity’s £5m deficit forecast…

    Rising costs contribute to canal charity’s £5m deficit forecast…

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    INCREASED costs are among the factors leading the Canal & River Trust to forecast a deficit of around £5 million for the current financial year. With an £87 million spend on infrastructure and weaker investment markets yielding a reduced income, work is also ongoing to mitigate the impact of cost inflation. Chief executive Richard Parry…

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  • New director for CRT’s West Midlands region

    New director for CRT’s West Midlands region

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    THE Canal & River Trust has announced the appointment of Henriette Breukelaar as the new director for the West Midlands in which it has 520 miles of waterways. Henriette, who takes up her appointment on April 1, has had a diverse career, most recently as CEO at Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Before…

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  • Drained Lock: Go Behind The Scenes

    Drained Lock: Go Behind The Scenes

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    The Canal & River Trust is giving members of the public the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes into the temporarily drained Lock 7 on the Old Main Line Canal in Wolverhampton at the end of February to see close up the refurbishment of the 250-year-old canal lock, which includes the replacement of the…

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