HS2 and towpath improvements highlighted at CRT’s user forum

THE second phase of the high speed railway, HS2, was a major topic during the Canal & River Trust’s National User Forum event held recently in Birmingham for the first time in two years.

Peter Walker, CRT’s head of technical support, gave a presentation that was prefaced by him outlining that the trust’s position was neutral on this highly political project.

It would seem that the opportunities to collaborate with the HS2 developers are better from this standpoint rather than opposing the project. Peter went on to say that from this position, the trust is better able to influence the design of some elements of the scheme, such as structures including bridges and other ‘interfaces’.

Phase one is currently under construction between London and Birmingham and includes 13 major interfaces where the project and the system come together. These include a number of locations in North London where the line passes below the canal and a number of viaducts, including Colne Valley, Wormleighton, Offchurch, Cudworth, Streethay, Fradley, Saltley and Curzon Street in Birmingham.

The presentation also highlighted a new, short section of canal being constructed in Lichfield to allow the restoration route to be diverted. Without this, the restoration route would have passed through a major bridge pier and made construction impossible. The new section will allow the restoration to continue at some point in the future.

It was indicated that CRT has also secured to date £1.5 million for towpath improvements and £1.3 million to improve biodiversity, including hedges, trees, dredging, access and signage. The trust is also asking for more people to be involved in the work and decisions surrounding HS2. A consultation process is under way and it was suggested that issues are discussed with ‘elected representatives’, the assumption being that concerns will be passed on and maybe even acted upon.

Works programme

The forum also heard about infrastructure and programme works and the challenges encountered during 2021. These included the breach repair on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Rishton that cost £2.8 million to repair plus, on the same canal, £2 million worth of works carried out on Lock 31. These works, along with many others planned, met with challenges including Covid-19, storms, issues associated with resources and the need for additional work.

However, there were successes too. Work at the Earlswood Reservoir and the Tringford spillway are seen as such, and Historic England has pledged a grant of £1.4 million for work to be carried out at 14 sites. Dredging is cited by many as a major issue, and it was pointed out that £750k was spent on dredging on the Grand Union, £680k on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire and £470k on the Marple Flight, among others. For the 2022-2023 year, the projected spend for infrastructure and programme works is £60 million.

Work should have already begun on the Toddbrook spillway and will take two years to complete, while in July, work on the Hartshill Reservoir should start with the project due to end in May 2023. Work on Barrow Bridge, Black Cock Bridge, Caldon Bridge and Dowley Gap on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal are priority works for 2022-2023, costing £23 million.

National hydrology manager Adam Comerford outlined the current infrastructure totals, including 72 reservoirs, 1500 locks, 65 pumping stations and 155 abstraction points. He also pointed out that in 2015 the first strategy document was published detailing 14 actions to be carried out over the next five years. Although many were achieved, he accepted that some were missed due to events like Toddbrook and the drought of 2018.

He went on to say that the aim was to meet the 1-in-20 year level of service and work with others to mitigate against the impact of climate change, the increase in boating and the changes to funding.