Leeds Liverpool Canal: Work underway to upgrade towpaths near Bradford and Huddersfield

Improvement works are taking place on a 3.5km section of the towpath between Apperley Bridge and Shipley on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and a 4.3km section of the towpath between Milnsbridge and Slaithwaite on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.  

The works include the resurfacing and widening of canal towpaths and will provide communities along the Aire and Colne Valleys with traffic-free, flat and attractive alternative routes. Both schemes build upon previous upgrades to neighbouring sections of the canal towpaths completed in 2018.

Construction work is expected to continue until late summer and there will be a series of closures to the towpaths while the improvement works are underway.

In Kirklees, the improvements to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal towpath will take place between Lock 10E in Milnsbridge to Titanic Mills in Linthwaite with a closure in place from 28 Feb 2022 to late July 2022, and between Titanic Mills in Linthwaite to Britannia Road Bridge, Slaithwaite with a closure in place from 02 Mar 2022 to late July 2022.

In Bradford, the improvements to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath will take place between Dock Lane Swing Bridge in Shipley to Buck Hill Swing Bridge in Esholt with a closure in place between 18 March 2022 to mid-August 2022, and from Strangford Bridge to Dobson Lock from 21 March 2022 to mid-August 2022.

The upgrades, delivered through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme, are aimed at enabling more people to walk and cycle, in partnership with Bradford and Kirklees councils, and the Canal & River Trust.

The works are being delivered by the Canal & River Trust and updated information on the closures to the towpaths can be found through the Canal & River Trust website.