Towpath Talk

£1.1M UPGRADE for Towpath

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January 10, 2025

Work is under way on a project to improve a four-mile stretch of towpath on the northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal and make it more accessible for residents and visitors. Lucy Wood reports… THE Canal & River Trust worked with the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership and Westmorland and Furness Council to secure funding for…
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CANAL BOAT ARTIST transforms Tuk-Tuk

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January 9, 2025

RENOWNED canal boat artist Alan Baillie rose to a new challenge when he was asked to paint a tuk-tuk. A chance meeting on the Coventry Canal between tuk-tuk owner Gary Cross and Mr Baillie led to him taking on the unusual job of painting the Indian Bajaj auto rickshaw. After a conversation, Gary gave the…
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MULTI-MILLION UPGRADE for reservoir

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January 8, 2025

Lucy Wood reports… HILL Top Reservoir, known locally as Slaithwaite Reservoir, is being upgraded by the Canal & River Trust to meet safety standards and withstand climate change. Situated in the village of Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, the reservoir was opened 225 years ago. Renowned engineer Benjamin Outram built it to supply water…
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DEAL PENNED: Poet and canal trust

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January 7, 2025

CANAL Laureate Roy McFarlane has become an ambassador for Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (LHCRT). Birmingham-born Roy, known for his evocative poetry and dedication to exploring the cultural and historical significance of Britain’s waterways, will help the trust raise funds and awareness of its projects. The trust hopes his profile will help bring in…
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LAND GIFT to speed up canal restoration

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January 6, 2025

A DEVELOPER has donated a parcel of land in Lichfield which will speed up canal restoration. The land – owned by Persimmon Homes, which is creating its St John’s Grange community in the Staffordshire city – will now belong to Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust to manage, enabling it to restore a key junction…
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COMPLETED EARLY: Canal restoration work

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January 4, 2025

DEDICATED and hardworking volunteers from the Shropshire Union Canal Society have finished more vital work on the Montgomery Canal – months ahead of schedule. Using funding from the Rural Prosperity Fund grant, they completed a towpath, canal channel and hedge-laying. Working near the Crickheath and Schoolhouse Bridges, the volunteers completed the towpath and bank, channel…
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PARLIAMENT LOBBIED in campaign against surcharge

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January 3, 2025

BOATERS worried about a rise in costs have taken their case to Westminster. The National Bargee Travellers’ Association (NBTA), which represents 2000 boaters, is angry that boaters without a home mooring pay higher licence fees and claims that the Canal and River Trust discriminates against continuous cruisers. The NBTA held a drop-in session at the…
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CANAL EMBANKMENT COLLAPSES

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January 2, 2025

Heavy rainfall has caused a significant collapse of the Bridgewater Canal embankment near Dunham Massey, creating concerns for local residents, businesses, and canal users. The collapse, which occurred following days of relentless downpours, has left a section of the canal damaged, disrupting navigation and raising questions about the stability of the historic waterway. The affected…
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SAVED: ‘At risk’ Aqueduct

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December 31, 2024

AN AT-RISK aqueduct has been saved from falling into disrepair after Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales, stepped in. The Grade-II Listed Aberbechan Aqueduct on the Montgomery Canal has had extensive repairs which should ensure its survival for the next 200 years. The aqueduct carries the canal over Bechan Brook, a tributary…
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BROADS AUTHORITY: 5.9% fee increase

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December 30, 2024

THOUSANDS of boat owners and Norfolk Broads waterway businesses will pay an extra 5.9% in navigation fees this coming year. The Broads Authority agreed the rise but has set a budget which will mean cuts in its own services. It has contacted the Environment Minister Steve Reed for help, saying its current model of funding…
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CLIMATE CHANGE: £85m bill

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December 28, 2024

THE Canal & River Trust spent £85m in the last financial year on waterway maintenance and repairs, emergency works following floods and storms, and upgrades to reservoirs. In its annual Boater Report, the charity revealed it spent a total of £208.6m in 2023/24 out of income of £237.3m. That included £49m on maintenance and repair…
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WATERWAYS IMPORTANCE AWARENESS: MPs form group

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December 27, 2024

THE importance of the nation’s waterways could move higher up the political agenda thanks to the formation of a new cross-party group of MPs in Westminster. The Waterways All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) hosted its inaugural meeting in parliament recently, chaired by Labour MP for Sefton Central Bill Esterson. The Inland Waterways Association hopes the 21-strong…
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DREDGING: Completed by canal charity

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December 24, 2024

BOATERS on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal should find navigation easier thanks to the completion of a six-week dredging programme by Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales. The work saw in the region of 300 tonnes of sediment removed from four different locations along the canal. It is part of a comprehensive…
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NO MYSTERY: The new face of the Avon Navigation Trust

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December 23, 2024

CHART star and actress Toyah Willcox is the new patron of Avon Navigation Trust, with part of her role to try to bring young people to the waterways. The Worcestershire-based star, who has shone on stage, screen, in the pop charts and more recently on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, has taken time out to sprinkle…
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