27,000 tons of contaminated sediment removed in Canal & River Trust winter works programme

Dredging has been completed on the Macclesfield Canal and on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, where the Canal & River Trust has removed 27,000 tons of contaminated sediment at Titford Pools. Further dredging, bank protection and tree works are planned in the new year. On the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at Pontymoile, 4km of dredging has been completed, with a further 2.2km planned.

This is part of a £43.6 million programme of repairs on waterways across England & Wales this winter.

Spot dredging on the Llangollen Canal is ongoing with around 1,700 cubic metres of silt removed from the 2km length between Frankton Junction and New Marton Locks, with some dredgings reused to repair offside erosion.

Additionally, work has already been completed to replace gate cylinders on the Tees Barrage. On the Lancaster Canal, the Lune Embankment is being relined, while on the Macclesfield Canal similar work is being carried out at Palmerston Street Embankment. At Hurleston on the Llangollen Canal, where movement in the lock walls has restricted passage through the lock, the Trust is carrying out work to rebuild the affected wall, halt movement, and increase the width of the lock chamber. Work is ongoing at Winterburn Reservoir and at Blackbrook Junction Bridge in the West Midlands.

Of the 118 hand-crafted lock gate leaves due to be replaced, over 100 have been made and about half are now on site either having been fitted or about to be put in place.

The Trust is offering people the chance to see ‘behind the scenes’ at a number of sites. The open days (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/events/open-days) give visitors access into drained lock chambers on the Grand Union Canal and Trent & Mersey Canal, while repairs to the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’, Anderton Boat Lift, provide an amazing opportunity to get a rarely-seen view of this ‘wonder of the waterways’.