Anger as lock work delays leave boaters high and dry
‘It seems a shame it wasn’t really thought out properly’
Boat users have given a damning verdict on works being carried out on the £3 million rebuild of a lock.
The Environment Agency (EA) is carrying out the first major maintenance in more than a century to improve the waterway system for wildlife and mariners at East Farleigh.
However, work to refurbish the lock on the River Medway will now take an extra three months to complete after a major structural fault was discovered.
Mariner Simon Foster, who used the lock regularly, has expressed concerns after other boat enthusiasts have been left stranded upstream.
The 50-year-old said: “There are a lot of people that go on that run. It seems a bit of a shame that lots of money is being spent and it really wasn’t thought out properly.
“Had it been done properly then they would not have had to spend extra money trying to stop other problems.”
Contractors working for the EA discovered a major structural problem with a large section of wall behind the left-hand lock gate. This will have to be demolished and rebuilt with the work set to last until late June.
Mr Foster, a building supervisor, of Linden Road, Coxheath, expects a huge reduction in the number of boats set to attend the anniversary of the Dutch Invasion of Medway.
He said: “There are a lot of visitors from the clubs from up the river who say it isn’t worth travelling.
“We have got a guy who has got his boat moored just above East Farleigh. He has just paid £500 for a mooring and now he can’t use his boat.
“It is not a cheap hobby and there are lots of events people are going to miss like the Dutch Invasion over at Chatham where they are expecting 250,000 visitors.”
Philip Munslow, waterways operations manager said: “This unforeseen work will take a further 12 weeks to complete.
“It is therefore anticipated that the lock will remain closed until the end of June 2017.
“We apologise for the inconvenience.”