A total of 137 projects to restore and repair the canal network will take place during the colder months.
JUST after the last issue of Towpath Talk went to press, the Canal & River Trust announced details of its winter maintenance and preservation programme. Works will span 45 canals and rivers and include 137 separate projects at more than 100 locks, 14 bridges, two tunnels and a host of embankments, sluices, culverts and canal walls.
The work to tackle the big engineering and maintenance jobs takes place between autumn and spring when there is less boating traffic. However, following a challenging summer, with drought causing navigation restrictions, the trust was able to bring forward some repairs where locks were already closed, including at Foxton Locks, as reported, and on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, to reduce disruption later in the year.
Chief operating officer Julie Sharman said: “Winter is the time of year when the focus for our engineers, heritage experts, skilled craftspeople and our amazing team of volunteers turns to delivering the larger projects that are essential to keep the network available for navigation and, in turn, the millions of other people who benefit from this amazing legacy from the nation’s industrial past.”
In the North West, major repairs to the 100-year-old Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge, on the River Weaver, are planned, and relining a 60m stretch of the Peak Forest Canal at Strines Aqueduct.
In London and the South East, the winter will see the rare draining of Islington Tunnel, on the Regent’s Canal, for brickwork repairs and graffiti removal, alongside works at 16 locks around the region.
A full overhaul of locks 15 and 18 on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, plus embankment works on the Rochdale Canal, are also included in the programme, and in the West Midlands, extensive lock gate replacements across 34 locks and major canal bed replacement works on the Tame Valley Canal are on the list.
In Wales and the South West, repairs at 10 locks are scheduled, as is draining sections of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal for inspections, and vital work to Purton Upper Bridge on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
And a full refurbishment of Dratley’s Bridge, on the Ashby Canal, and work including lock gate replacements and heritage masonry repairs will take place at 10 locks in the East Midlands.
Julie continued: “Canals are centuries-old working heritage and, with rising costs, climate pressures and more extreme weather events, the challenge of keeping them in good condition for navigation has never been greater. We can’t do it without the support of boaters, our volunteers, supporters, and the wider public.”
For more information and to see what’s happening near you, visit the notices and stoppages section at canalrivertrust.org.uk
