Area Focus: Coventry - Mid Warks - North Warks - South Water way to spend a morning for Chamber leader

The UK’s largest canal charity has held a special open event which gave hundreds of visitors a unique insight into a major eightweek restoration project which is currently underway in Warwickshire.

Canal and River Trust held a three-day open event at Hatton Locks to showcase a £300,000 project to replace two pairs of lock gates, with visitors able to go down into a section of the drained lock and see the work up close.

The event began with a VIP open day which welcomed key stakeholders from across the area to hear more about the charity, which looks after around 2,000 miles of historic waterways, and the complex work taking place.

Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, was one of those in attendance and was able to speak to those leading on the works about the process of draining the lock and then installing the new English oak gates, which each weigh up to three tonnes and are installed using spider cranes.

He also heard about the charity’s work to educate people – young and old – about everything from water safety to the health and wellbeing benefits of being near waterways

He said: “The Canal and River Trust is certainly one of our more unique Chamber members, and it was fantastic to visit Hatton Locks to hear more about the project and the wider work being done by the charity.

“It was fascinating to hear about the gates and brickwork. The Canal and River Trust has an almost unique offer combining traditional heritage skills and manufacturing techniques with a modern approach to materials and construction.

“This mix of old and new skills are in great demand, and we must make sure that the trust gets the profile and credit it deserves.

“The event also acted as an important reminder that the Canal and River Trust is a charity, and one with incredible responsibility.

“It is tasked with sustaining 2,000 miles of waterways, not just so they can be enjoyed, but to protect assets such as valuable national infrastructure in the form of cables and pipelines which are often located underground alongside them.

“It also mitigates water shortages by transferring water from areas with a surplus to those in need.

“We therefore need to make sure that the Canal and River Trust is a charity that is taken seriously by government to ensure it can continue its vital work.”

The open event at Hatton Locks, which has 10 members of staff and around 240 volunteers, welcomed more than 600 people to visit the drained lock and hear about the project during the course of the three-day event.

In addition to this, the Canal and River Trust also welcomed groups of schoolchildren who were eager to learn more.

Henriette Breukelaar, of Canal and River Trust, said: “It was fantastic to welcome over 800 people to Hatton Locks to speak to them about the works taking place.

“Lock gates are replaced every 25 years, so being able to take people into a drained lock is a unique opportunity that we are really pleased to facilitate.

“A particular highlight was our VIP open day which gave us the chance to highlight