canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat November 2017 13
NEWS
TOWPATH
TELEGRAPH
EAST LONDON LOCK REOPENS
The restored Carpenters Road Lock in East
London was reopened as part of a
waterways festival in the Queen Elizabeth II
Olympic Park which attracted 50 boats
and 10,000 visitors on August Bank
Holiday Monday. The lock, fitted uniquely
with radial guillotine gates at both ends,
will be available for passages booked free
of charge via an online booking system to
be launched shortly on canalrivertrust.co.uk,
or by phone on 0303 040 4040.NELSON’S ARM COMPLETE
The Grand Union’s Nelson Cement Works
arm at Stockton has now completely
reopened, thanks to work by Willow Wren
Training which now occupies the site. The
arm, used by boats bringing in coal and
taking out lime and cement, was
abandoned after the works closed in 1949
and infilled in the 1960s, but the 16,
cubic metres of infill have now been
re-excavated in stages and the original
walls restored. One side of the arm will be
used to provide private moorings: see
nelsonswharf.co.uk for more.DROITWICH TRIP-BOAT APPEAL
A fund-raising appeal has been launched
by The Droitwich Pamela May Trust aimed
at raising £80,000 for a new trip-boat to
replace its 22-year-old craft. The Trust is
already more than a quarter of the way to
its target with £23,000 raised. To support
the appeal, email pamelamaybookings@
gmail.co.uk or phone 07038 571809TOP SPOTS FOR HERITAGE
Two more waterways sites have been
honoured with the Transport Trust’s Red
Wheel awards to recognise their heritage
value. Dundas Basin and aqueduct
becomes the fourth site on the Kennet &
Avon (after Caen Hill Locks, Claverton and
Crofton pumping stations) to receive the
award. The second award goes to
Hawkesbury Junction, meeting point of the
Oxford and Coventry canals with its well
known stop-lock, junction bridge and
waterside pub.Leicester is shut as water runs short
FACED WITH THE prospect of
reservoirs falling to minimum
levels, the Canal & River Trust
has “temporarily and reluctantly”
closed the Leicester Section of
the Grand Union Canal as a
through-route – and warned that
although other closures appear
to have been avoided for this year,
it is already looking ahead to 2018.
The decision, influenced
particularly by the low levels of
Naseby Reservoir which failed to
recover to its normal levels last
winter, comes despite CRT’s
efforts to re-line lock gates on
the route to reduce leakage.
It affects the length from
Lock 30 at Kilby Bridge
northwards to Lock 38,
King’s Lock in Leicester.
As we went to press the Trust
was unable to give any details of
the likely length of the closure.
Elsewhere, the network has
avoided indefinite closures.There have, however, been
short-term stoppages to allow
levels to recover on the Kennet &
Avon summit, restricted hours at
Wigan Locks on the Leeds &
Liverpool since spring, overnight
closures on the Regents, and a
reduction (since lifted) to
five-day opening around the
Rochdale Canal summit.
Some might point to the often
poor summer weather and ask
how the canals can still be short
of water, but the EnvironmentAgency explained that with low
groundwater levels after the dry
winter and spring, the effects of
the wet weather have been
small and short-lived.
The main concern now is that
given the poor groundwater
situation, without heavy
autumn rain there is a risk that
a second dry winter could leave
the system unprepared for the
start of the busy cruising
season in 2018, as happened in
2011 to 2012.ȼ Improving provision of short-stay moorings
ȼ Developing ‘custom’ short-stay moorings (including
pre-bookable sites, ‘eco’ moorings and berths for
boat maintenance)
ȼ Developing winter moorings while minimising
impact on other boaters
ȼ Better facilities provision and management
ȼ New and improved methods of communicating
with boaters
ȼ More business boats at key sites
ȼ Retaining access for other activities such as fishing
and canoeing
Even so, the Trust accepts that space in London is
finite, and that the Strategy “cannot on its own
address an ongoing growth in boat numbers”, which
will be “to the detriment of all users” if they carry on
rising at current rates.
CRT warns that this could mean developing options
for craft numbers to be “managed and potentially
limited” in very busy sections of canal.Boats double-moored west of Islington TunnelLocks north of Leicester have been closed