New year sees winter works continue
A £43.6 MILLION programme of repairs on waterways across England and Wales this winter is continuing after the completion of some major projects during the first six weeks.
Of the 118 hand-crafted lock gate leaves due to be replaced, more than 100 had been made and about half were now on site either having been fitted or about to be put in place, at the time of the latest update (December) by the Canal & River Trust.
The trust’s teams had completed 14 of the published winter improvement works with another 36 due to be finished by the Christmas break.
A further 92 repair and refurbishment projects were due to be completed this new year.
In terms of major projects the trust is carrying out, work had been completed to replace gate cylinders on the Tees Barrage.
On the Lancaster Canal, the Lune Embankment was being relined, while on the Macclesfield Canal similar work was being carried out at Palmerston Street Embankment.
At Hurleston on the Llangollen Canal, where movement in the lock walls has restricted passage through the lock, the trust was carrying out work to rebuild the affected wall, halt movement and increase the width of the lock chamber.
Work was ongoing at Winterburn Reservoir, and at Blackbrook Junction Bridge in the West Midlands.
Scheduled works still to come included repairs to mechanical swing and lift bridges, embankment relining and culvert repairs, among others.
Two pumping stations were also on the list for special attention; Bowyer Street Pumping Station, a key water supply to the Grand Union Canal, will see works to upgrade and replace lifeexpired pumps; while on the Wendover Arm, a similar project at Tringford
Pumping Station will replace the pumps, pipes, electrics and gantry.
Dredging had been completed on the Macclesfield Canal and on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, where the trust had removed 27,000 tonnes of contaminated sediment at Titford Pools. Further dredging, bank protection and tree works were planned for the new year.
On the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at Pontymoile, 4km of dredging had been completed, with a further 2.2km planned.
Spot dredging on the Llangollen Canal was ongoing with around 1700 cubic metres of silt removed from the 2km length between Frankton Junction and
New Marton Locks, with some dredgings reused to repair offside erosion.
The work was set to continue, along with reactive spot dredging across the country and projects at Sharpness Dock, Ribble Link, Liverpool Dock approaches, and on the Upper & Lower Peak Forest and Chesterfield canals.
The CRT is also offering people the chance to see ‘behind the scenes’ at a number of sites.
The open days will give visitors access into drained lock chambers on the Grand Union Canal and Trent & Mersey Canal, while repairs to the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’ – Anderton Boat Lift – provides an amazing opportunity to get a rarely seen view of this ‘wonder of the waterways’.
A number of the events, including on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, will highlight the trust’s #plasticschallenge which invites people to get involved in helping to stop the flow of plastic litter into the world’s oceans.
Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, said: “By investing over the winter months we’ll not only be protecting the historic fabric of the region’s waterways and making sure that they’re working well for boaters, but we’ll also be ensuring that local communities have safe, open waterways to enjoy.
“Many people may not realise the work and attention that our charity and our volunteers put into caring for the waterways or indeed how getting involved, simply by visiting their local canal, can improve their health and well-being.
“Our winter open days are a chance for people to come along and find out more, and we look forward to seeing lots of new faces as well as many old friends at the events.”
Find out more about the open days at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/ enjoy-the-waterways/events/open-days