Volunteers sought to help save Mersey Flat
AN APPEAL has gone out for volunteers to help carry out urgent repairs to the last intact Mersey Flat Oakdale.
Supporters of the historic barge, which is currently moored on the mudflats of the Duddon Estuary west of Barrowin-Furness, fear she could be lost if action isn’t taken.
Oakdale sank during storms in March 2020 but although repair work was carried out, further storm and weather damage have taken their toll.
A marine surveyor is due to carry out an evaluation survey which will help determine where best to carry out longerterm repairs, but the most urgent priority is to patch up the vessel for winter and refloat her further up the beach.
Built in 1951, Oakdale is one of only two Flats surviving, the other being Mossdale, now preserved on land at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port. She spent her working life on the Rivers Mersey and Weaver and was used as a grain barge.
The Oakdale Mersey Flat Trust has been set up by supporters, with the aim of fully restoring the vessel, and then returning her to the Mersey, hopefully to Runcorn. They ultimately hope to establish a heritage boatyard at the site of Oakdale’s launch, or the site of the former Town Slip, where Old Quay Yard once maintained the vessels of the Manchester Ship Canal. Contact martin.dewhurst@me.com