REPAIRS to Ratcliffe Lock, on the River Soar in Nottingham, have been conducted to ensure that boaters can use it during the summer holidays.
The Canal & River Trust was due to replace the aged gates last winter after boaters reported difficulties operating them, but wet weather meant the River Soar was in flood for much of the season and the work was postponed.
The CRT recently discovered that the heel post, which enables the lock’s oak lock gate to pivot open and close smoothly, had split. This weakened the gate and made it hard for boaters to use. As a temporary repair, a ‘false heel’ has been installed to enable the lock to reopen for the summer holidays and ahead of the popular Shardlow Inland Port Festival in September.
Accessing the site is tricky, so the charity’s team brought in a crane boat to lift the balance beam – the heavy beam that forms the top of the lock gate – to carry out the repair, saving the need for draining the canal. The lock reopened on July 25.
Andrew Morris, regional construction manager at the trust, said: “We always aim to minimise disruption for boaters, so instead of carrying out a long stoppage in the summer, which would have meant navigation would be restricted for several weeks during the busiest time of year, we have planned the full lock gate replacement at Ratcliffe Lock for the autumn, once the river is quieter. The lock gates have already been built in our specialist workshop and are ready to be installed.”
