Tim Greenfield reports…
WORKERS from the Canal and River Trust are poised to start a massive programme of renovation work next month.
The organisation is planning repairs and conservation projects across the waterway network from November to March and is hoping there will be minimal disruption to boaters.
Work, which includes installing new lock gates and fixing leaks, has been planned with feedback from boaters.
Spokeswomen Fran Read said: “We always try to minimise disruption, and where possible try to avoid closing off all route options. Boaters were invited to give feedback on the proposed programme over the summer – and we have included this.”
A host of repair, heritage and conservation tasks will be carried out at 159 sites across England and Wales.
The trust will be installing 129 new lock gates, handcrafted in its specialist workshops at Caen Hill Flight on the Kennet and Avon Canal, Hatton Flight and Braunston on the Grand Union Canal, Acton’s Lock on the Regent’s Canal in central London, and on the Rochdale Canal and Birmingham Canal Navigations among others. Other work includes masonry repairs to bridges, tunnels and wash walls, work to fix leaks and preserve water for navigation, and inspections of important infrastructure including Islington Tunnel, York Street Aqueduct in Burnley, plus Gloucester Lock.
Malcolm Horne, chief infrastructure and programmes officer, said: “Our canals are as important now as they were at the height of the Industrial Revolution – but age and increasingly frequent and extreme weather events are taking their toll, meaning our work to repair and maintain the canals is needed now more than ever. The work we are carrying out this winter is part of our ongoing investment programme to keep canals alive and accessible for navigation for boaters, as well as acting as linear parks benefiting local people and wildlife.”
In addition to the winter works, the trust is midway through a multi-million-pound programme of reservoir repairs to help ensure the resilience of the water needed to keep canals topped up, with continued investment to safeguard the water supply from the trust’s reservoirs – the oldest in the country.
“Work has taken place, or been scheduled, at over two-thirds of the charity’s 71 reservoirs. In addition, repairs along canal beds, canal walls and at locks will help ensure millions of litres of water aren’t lost from the network’s ageing structures. The trust is also continuing to invest in its dredging programme throughout the year to improve navigation.
To find out where and when work is taking place visit: canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices
