£800,000 upgrade for 200-year-old canals across Shropshire

But as most people try and keep warm indoors, a team of engineers and specialists from the Canal & River Trust will be busy carrying out vital repairs to the nation’s 200-year-old canal network, including in Shropshire.

The trust has revealed which stretches of canals in the county are to be closed during the coming months as it carries out repair and restoration work costing about £800,000.

The Llangollen Canal and Shropshire Union Canal are among those to benefit from the work.

The environment for those carrying out the work is not for the faint-hearted. Often their day job means dealing with oceans of mud, freezing temperatures, driving rain and even snow to replace lock gates, rebuild embankments and grout damaged lock chamber masonry.

The charity has the endless task of caring for a complex, imperfect, beautiful heritage waterway network that’s just as important today as in the Industrial Revolution when much of it was constructed.

Nearly half the population of England and Wales lives within five miles of a canal and last year 380 million visits were made to the trust’s waterways.

The trust has revealed work is taking place at Tyrley Locks 3 and 5, on the Shropshire Union Canal, near Market Drayton, from November 6 to December 15.

It will involve replacing the top and bottom gates at Tyrley Bottom Lock 5 and Tyrley Lock 3.

Work will take place at Audlem Locks, Shropshire Union Canal, near Market Drayton, from November 6 to December 15.

It will involve replacing the top and bottom gates on Lock 2, repairing the underwater bywash on Local 9 and replacing the top and bottom gates on Lock 14.

Ladder replacement works will take place at Adderley Lock 1, Shropshire Union Canal, near Market Drayton, from November 6 to 24.

Work is taking place at Sluice 4, Cornhill, Llangollen Canal, adjacent to Bridge 47, from January 8 to January 26, to carry out repairs to the sluice – a device for controlling the flow of water.

Repairs at New Mills Lift Bridge 31, Whitchurch, Llangollen Canal, will take place from January 29 to February 16.

Repair work at Springhill Bridge 41, Llangollen Canal, will be carried out from January 22 to February 9.

The trust said bridge repairs will be carried out at Grindley Brook Bridge 28, on the Llangollen Canal near Whitchurch, from February 19 to March 16.

Work will also take place during this time at Grindley Brook Locks 4, 5, and 6, to reline the gates.

Repairs below the water level to the wet abutment will also be carried out at Dansons Bridge 30, Llangollen Canal, from February 19 to March 11.

The dates have been amended to tie in with the closure at Grindley Brook Locks.

Wendy Capelle, waterway manager at the Canal & River Trust said: “The Canal & River Trust, the charity which cares for the nations waterways, is investing over £800,000 this winter in Shropshire to carry out important repairs to parts of the Llangollen Canal and Shropshire Union Canal to keep the canal in good working order for the thousands of boats that use the canals every year.

"Works will include replacing the 200-year-old lock gates at Tyrley Locks 3 and 5 and in Audlem locks 2, 9 and 14. Other works will be carried out to repair bridges and locks across the region.”

Last year the Canal & River Trust undertook a £43 million restoration and repair programme on canals and rivers across England and Wales.

It involved work at Audlem's flight of locks near Market Drayton, including replacing the timber top lock gate as well as making repairs.

Earlier this year, communities were encouraged to adopt one-mile stretches of canals by the trust,

It published an online map of areas in need of support – including stretches of the Llangollen, Montgomery and Shropshire Union Canal.

Across the country, 170 sections of waterways have been adopted by community groups and the Canal & River Trust is aiming to boost this to 500 by 2025.

Some stretches of canal in the region are already looked after by groups and organisations.

For more information visit canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer/adopt-a-canal