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Ashton Locks get spruced up this winter

23rd Nov 2009

As part of its winter programme of network improvements, British Waterways will be undertaking a £60,000 project of essential works along the Ashton Canal.

The maintenance will include the replacement of three sets of head gates along the Ashton Canal at locks 10,11 and 12, as well general grouting repairs to the lock chambers.

Using skills and techniques passed down by decades of waterway craftsmen, British Waterways completes the majority of its annual programme of engineering works over the winter – minimising disruption as much as possible for the millions of people who live, visit or work on and by the canals.

Lock gates are constructed with tremendous strength as they have to control huge water pressures and take the hard usage they get from the thousands of boats which use them each year. In order to be waterproof they also need to be built very precisely, fitting tightly to the masonry of the lock walls and to each other. In addition they are expected to survive for a long time underwater and at the mercy of the elements.

David Baldacchino, waterways manager for British Waterways Manchester & Pennine region, said: "With the majority of our canals approaching their 250th birthdays, it is essential that we continue with a programme of maintenance to keep them open, accessible and in good order. The waterways have experienced an amazing renaissance in recent years and are now used by more people than ever so it’s vitally important that we preserve them for the future."

British Waterways, is the guardian of over 2,200 miles of canals and rivers in the UK, and the third largest owner of listed buildings in the country. It maintains:

• 1,654 historic locks
• 54 tunnels
• 3,115 bridges
• 417 aqueducts
• 91 reservoirs

The Ashton Canal is six miles long and is an important part of the waterway network through Manchester, going from Ducie Street in Manchester, where it connects to the Rochdale Canal, through to Ashton-under-Lyne where it meets the Peak Forest Canal and Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Portland Basin.

Last updated: 26/11/2009