Past comes into view as renaissance continues
RICHARD Millar, director of infrastructure, heritage, enterprise and sustainability, has been with Scottish Canals for almost 21 years, during which time he’s witnessed the canals’ renaissance and regeneration.
Reviewing the past year, Richard’s stand-out moments included the reopening of the Forth & Clyde canal bridges at Twechar and Bonnybridge, and the celebratory flotilla at the end of May.
Another was the announcement of £1.53 billion investment in Scotland’s canal corridors since the reopening of the Lowland canals in 2002.
Investment in the canals has come in waves with, for example, significant investment in the Caledonian Canal in the 1960s, major restoration between 1995 and 2005, and the recent Scottish Government grant of £5.35 million to modernise the Fort Augustus lock flight and other vital maintenance works.
Phase one of this project was completed during 2019 and phase two continues this winter. The scale of the task can be seen by the size of the cranes on site and the massive emptied locks.
The past comes into view when you see the lock chambers, engineered by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, and the original stonemasons’ marks, usually hidden under water.
This investment ties together with the recent development of the new Caledonian Canal Centre in Fort Augustus, supporting the rural Highland economy.
Also on the Caledonian, a major project to stabilise the canal embankment at Kytra, south of Fort Augustus, continues, after last year’s drainage of a large section of the canal revealed the poor condition of the embankment.
Significant investment is planned for the Crinan Canal during 2020–21. Initially, a dive survey of the canal’s eastern locks (one to six) will take place, with new gates on the Ardrishaig side of the canal planned for the following year.
The eastern end of the canal will be closed to navigation January to early March to allow this exploratory work to take place.
On the Union, the third and final phase of the project to strengthen the embankment in Linlithgow will be completed.
Works on the Forth & Clyde Canal continue with the construction of Garscube Bridge at the Claypits Local Nature Reserve in Glasgow.
A new bridge at Stockingfield Junction is progressing through the planning process. This is a substantial project and it is hoped that work will start in spring. Regeneration work continues in Bowling, with the development of the old Customs House into holiday lets, and the High Line project; the creation of a linear park and pathway along the old railway line, linking the towpath to the National Cycle Network route towards Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
The Falkirk Wheel will be 18 this year and (as mentioned elsewhere) 2020 is officially Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters. The bicentenary of the Union and Caledonian canals is in 2022. Work continues on Rosebank Distillery in Falkirk, with the restoration of historic canalside buildings and new construction expected to be completed in 2021. Ian Macleod Distillers plans to revive the revered Rosebank whisky, considered one of the best Lowland single malts.
Scottish Canals have been working with customers to understand the requirements for user-operation. Richard notes the engineering challenge of applying modern design codes to canals and infrastructure built some 200 years ago. Scottish Canals will benefit from the experiences, past and present, of Canal & River Trust (who moved the Yorkshire canals to user-operation in the 1990s) to understand how best to improve lock mechanisms for useroperation. This is at an early stage on the Caledonian.
On the Forth & Clyde, Scottish Canals is working closely with Re-Union’s volunteer lock keepers, who have operated locks on the eastern side for some time. Initial planning will focus on how to move locks 17 to 20 to user-operation.
The Glasgow branch of the canal is also on the agenda. The repair of Bonnybridge and Twechar bridges included installation of mechanisms to allow remote operation. With some work still required on the infrastructure, and discussion and agreement needed with Transport Scotland, local authorities and local communities, user operation is still some way off – a five to 10-year programme, depending on investment.