PRESS RELEASE
13 November
£300,000 invested in restoration of Worcestershire canals this winter
As part of its annual programme of restoration and repairs to waterways across the country, the
Canal & River Trust is undertaking essential maintenance works on the Droitwich Canals and
Worcester & Birmingham Canal this winter.
Projects totalling over £300,000 will be completed, including painstakingly repairing historic canal
walls, locks and lock gates.
The stand-out piece of work will be carried out in January, when people will have the unique
opportunity to walk inside a drained lock at Tardebigge and experience a two-century old world that
is usually hidden beneath the waterline.
Tardebigge is the longest flight of locks in the UK, made of 30 locks over a two-and-a-quarter mile
stretch. Lock 58 will have its giant, solid-oak lock gate replaced with a hand-crafted new gate, as
well as conservation work to the centuries-old brickwork that make-up the walls throughout the
flight.
The works are part of the Trust’s five-month, £45 million programme to look after 2,000 miles of
canals and rivers across England and Wales.
Nick Worthington, Canal & River Trust waterways manager, said: “The Droitwich and Worcester &
Birmingham canals are much loved, and there’s quite a lot of work needed to look after them. This
goes on all-year-round, but over the next few months our engineers and heritage experts will be
focussing on the major infrastructure projects that need to be done. With the waterways being 200years old, a lot of the repairs are quite specialised, and a lot of care and craftsmanship is needed.
I’d definitely encourage people to come along to our open day in Tardebigge early in the new year
where there’s the chance to see this work up close and experience the rare treat of walking inside
a drained lock.”
Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, says: “Every day thousands of people
visit or cruise on our waterways without ever seeing all the hard work that goes on behind the
scenes, and below the waterline, to look after this historic and remarkable infrastructure. This
winter we are spending around £45 million on essential repair and restoration works and routine
Canal & River Trust, Toll House, Delamere Terrace, London, W2 6ND
T: 0203 3204 4514 E: press.office@canalrivertrust.org.uk W: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk Twitter: @CanalRiverTrust
Patron: H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. Canal & River Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales
with company number 7807276 and registered charity number 1146792, registered office address: First Floor North, Station House, 500
Elder Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB
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maintenance to our canals and rivers. By showcasing this work to the public we can give them a
glimpse of the craftsmanship of the waterways’ original 18th Century design and the scale of the
work we do to care for it. We hope this will inspire more people to get involved to enjoy and help
support their local canal or river navigation.”
Kier is sponsoring this year’s programme. Eddie Quinn, operations director, Waterways, says: “We
are incredibly proud to sponsor the Trust’s essential work to preserve the canals and rivers of
England and Wales. Repairing and maintaining the waterways is a huge task requiring traditional
materials and methods to be used to maintain this vital part of our heritage. As well as historical
importance, the waterways are now widely recognised for being crucial for wildlife and are a wellloved leisure resource for millions of people every year.”
Every year the Canal & River Trust carries out a year round programme of works to conserve and
repair the fragile infrastructure of the canals and rivers in its care. Teams of experts replace lock
gates and complete essential maintenance across 2,000 miles of canals and rivers so they can be
enjoyed by over 33,000 boats and 10 million towpath visitors each year. The Trust is working on
around 100 locks across the country, replacing 141 lock gates this winter.
To find out more about the winter stoppage programme and other open days happening
across the country go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/restorationandrepairs
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For more information contact Joe Coggins in the Canal & River Trust press office on 020 3204
4410 joe.coggins@canalrivertrust.org.uk
The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and
Wales. We are among the largest charities in the UK, maintaining the nation’s third largest
collection of Listed structures, as well as museums, archives, navigations and hundreds of
important wildlife sites. We believe that our canals and rivers are a national treasure and a local
haven for people and wildlife. It is our job to care for this wonderful legacy – holding it in trust for
the nation in perpetuity and giving people a greater role in the running of their local waterways
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
Britain’s canals were built before the standardisation of the 19th century and so every lock is
different, and every lock-gate is tailor-made for each lock. The number of gates a lock has
varies: at the ‘upstream’ end of locks some have two gates whilst others only have one, with the
same applying at the ‘downstream’ end.