£50m work on waterways for winter ahead of charity switch

The repair work will see the new lock gates at Ickles Lock, which is just south of Rotherham town centre and a part of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation. Work at Ickles Lock is due to take place in November.

On the Chesterfield Canal, maintenance work will begin in November on Gringley Lock (61) and work on the embankment at Turnerwood will run from January to March next year.

The maintenance programme, taking place between next month and March next year, will include the replacement of over 100 hand-crafted British oak lock gates.

British Waterways is also offering the public an intimate look at Britain’s canals and rivers through a series of open days, details of which can be found at www.waterscape.com/canalopendays.

Along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in West Yorkshire a Stoppage Open Day will be held at one of most famous waterway landmarks on the canal system at Bingley Five Rise Locks where four of six gates are being replaced on this Grade I* listed lock flight.

Oddy’s Lock in Leeds and Top Lock on the Calder & Hebble Navigation near Huddersfield are also having new gates fitted.

On the Huddersfield Narrow Canal a total of 10 lock gates will be replaced and another two will have repairs – a major feat of winter maintenance by the waterways team.

Locks 1E, 7E, 8E, 12E, 28E, 32E, 34E, 39E, 40E and 31W are being replaced whilst 37E and 38E are having repairs carried out. In total, the project will cost over £500,000.

The 100 lock gates have been made by British Waterways’ specialist lock gate workshops in Bradley, West Midlands and Stanley Ferry, near Wakefield.

Each bespoke lock gate is hand-crafted by a skilled team of carpenters and made from sustainably sourced British oak.

A single lock gate weighs on average 3.6 tonnes and can take up to 20 days to make.

With just six months to go until the Government puts these canals and rivers into trust for the nation through the creation of a new charity, this winter many of Britain’s canals and rivers will be receiving a vital makeover to help keep the nation’s waterways working.

Vince Moran, British Waterways’ operations director, said: “Britain’s canals and rivers are set to become a new waterways charity next year so this year’s maintenance programme marks the end of an era for the nation’s historic waterway network and the beginning of a new chapter.

“We look after the third largest estate of listed structures in the country, including many iconic examples of the nation’s industrial heritage. I hope that by opening up the repair works this winter, we can give people a chance to see the scale of the work we do to ensure that the waterways are preserved for today’s users and future generations.”

Maintenance firm May Gurney are sponsoring this year’s winter works campaign.

Eddie Quinn, framework manager for the British Waterways at May Gurney, said: “Few people realise that many canal locks, buildings and structures are listed monuments and that the canal network is one of the finest, living references to Britain’s industrial revolution.

“Repairing and maintaining the canal network is a painstaking task, which requires traditional materials and methods to be used to preserve this vital part of the UK’s heritage.”

The investment is currently funded through Government grants and income from commercial activities such as property and boat licenses.

When British Waterways transfers to a charity, scheduled for April next year, funding will be delivered via a long-term Government contract, commercial revenue and charitable income.