waterways system

Progress Montgomery Canal

SUCS volunteers are into the final couple of hundred metres of channel lining to complete before the canal can be reopened to Crickheath Wharf

Montgomery Canal

June working parties: Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) volunteers continued the fortnightly programme of restoration in June on the Montgomery Canal, near Crickheath, where the channel is being re-lined to waterproof it.

A main task for this working party was to address the essential task of cutting 14 metre lengths of the lining ‘carpet’ from the massive rolls that had been delivered. Each piece is 6 metres wide and very heavy. These were rolled up and carried by a team of six bearers along the embankment to the positions of need.

Also another 20 metres of waterproof lining was put down in the channel and covered with building blocks to compress the blankets of material.

There are now 160 metres that have been completed leaving a further 170 metres to do, to complete this part of the restoration process to connect the basin at Crickheath to the current limit of navigation at Gronwen Bridge and so to the national waterways network. 60 metres of stone rip rap was also put down. This stone strip covers the top metre of a canal channel to break up the wash created by boat movements.

The head wall of a Culvert passing under the channel that has been under construction, was also completed using sandbags.

Pictures by SUCS Cutting the lining to length and (below) laying blocks on top

June’s second working party began on a blisteringly hot Friday, when volunteers from the design consultants Arcadis boosted the work force numbers. This laid the foundation for a surprisingly, prolific weekend session, which added another 40 metres of lined channel to that already completed. In the region of 4,000 blocks were used.

A length of channel is lined with a ‘sandwich’ of four layers of waterproofing materials. It is then ‘paved’ with building blocks to weight them down. These layers are put down as huge overlapping blankets which are 6 metres wide and stretch 14 Profiling the channel metres from the towpath down and across the channel to the top of the offside bank.

The weekend’s effort reduced the length remaining to be done down to 160 metres. Once complete, all efforts can be directed toward surfacing the 330 metres of accompanying towpath.

Machine based work continued with channel shaping next to Crickheath Basin. July working parties: On another scorching Friday, 15 volunteers from telecommunications giant Openreach significantly boosted the work force numbers on a community volunteering day which laid the foundation for a prolific weekend of action. The group was divided into two teams, one of five volunteers and a larger one of ten with some regular volunteers to manage proceedings. The smaller group tackled a very dirty, muddy and particularly difficult length of six metres where a drainage sump had previously been located to link two lined and blocked sections of channel together. This involved barrowing a considerable amount of mud and silt up the side of the channel to the top. Then the channel was lined and blocked. The other group worked flat out on lining and blocking toward Crickheath, completing an amazing 26 metres in the day. The whole group really enjoyed the demanding, physical work which was much appreciated by the regular team.

This left just another 90 metres to do to complete the lining and blocking. A twenty metre trial section of the 330m of accompanying towpath was satisfactorily completed on the Sunday.

Machine-based work continued at Crickheath with very accurate, precise channel shaping being the focus. Finally, a small team spent the whole weekend cutting the massive rolls of lining material into 14 metre carpets for use next time. Not a very glamourous task but an essential one.

Another massive step forward was achieved on the second July working party with over 3,000 building blocks put down to weigh down the lining material. Some detailed work was done to bring the top of the blocks into line through a hefty session of angle grinding. The pressure is on to meet the end of October 2022 deadline for completion but each session is significantly reducing the massive task. The HLF funding that has financed the project will end in October, hence the need to complete all work by the end of that month.

The final few metres of untreated channel were shaped to the precise angle so the next work party will see a change of emphasis: lining and blocking will continue to cover this last 60 metre section and stone and soil rip rap will be added to a hundred meters of lining material between the top of the blocking and the towpath edge using power barrows to transport the material.

We have benefitted recently from new volunteers but we would really welcome more for the four work parties to be held in September and October. Interested people should see https:// shropshireunion.org.uk/work-party-schedule for details of dates and contact details. Fred Barrett, Publicity Officer page 29

Progress Wendover Arm

The Wendover Canal Trust’s volunteers are tracking down leaks, lining the next length of channel, and preparing to clear the infilled length

Grand Union Wendover Arm

Tracking down the Water Leak: The sluice gate at Whitehouses was closed and the section of canal at Whitehouses was rewatered. Water was observed passing the closed sluice gate. There were minor leaks through the block wall on Bridge 4 side of Whitehouses. The block walls were sealed using a cement grout brushed onto the walls. Further observations showed that there is a seal on the back of the sluice gate requiring the gate to be accurately aligned in order to effect a seal. More trials will be undertaken.

Canal channel on the Little Tring side of Bridge 4: The canal banks which had been profiled earlier in the year were trimmed for a distance of 40m in order to lay the next section of Bentomat waterproof bentonite matting. Bentomat was placed on both banks using the ‘Bentomatic’ (excavator with special attachment) and the lower edge protected with timber boards.

During the remainder of the work party the hollow block foundation was placed, solid blocks and coir rolls were installed and backfilling to the banks was commenced.

The former rubbish tip infilled area: Trial holes were excavated in the tip area near the fence to determine the position of the coal tar lining. It was found that the fence had been erected in the wrong position. It was concluded that Wendover Canal Trust would remove the fence, erect a temporary fence to allow ash removal from the tip and then erect a permanent fence on the new boundary line.

Tidy Friday was spent strimming and cutting the grass on the path, around the benches and at Whitehouses. The area looks much more inviting.

Construction of the ‘narrows’: Materials were moved from the store at the carpark along to the working area at the site for the new stop plank narrows ready for the Waterway Recovery Group canal camps, due to start on 23rd July for two weeks. To see how they got on, and also for more information including a map showing where the worksites are and how they fit together, see the camp reports on pages 20 to 25.

Mikk Bradley

Wendover Canal Trust

Progress Lichfield Canal

Meanwhile on the Lichfield Canal, they’re busy concreting the canal bed and rebuilding old Lock 24 (to be replaced with a new lock) as a feature

Lichfield Canal

Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust work parties have concentrated their efforts on the Tamworth Road section of canal south east of Lichfield city centre. In Pound 25 work has re-started on laying concrete on the canal bed and about another 30 feet has been finished. An hour after the last 12 feet of concrete was laid it poured with rain and the new concrete slab was soon three inches under water as the ‘big pipe’ (the storm drain that was laid in the canal bed after the canal closed, and which is being progressively removed as restoration takes place) had flooded. Since concrete sets under water, the slab was inspected the next morning and all was well.

The team are currently using cement, aggregate, DPC membrane and reinforcement at the rate of over £1,200 per month on this section alone. Rain over this period has been the main problem and at times the site around old Lock 24 (which is being replaced by a new lock on a different site to facilitate getting the restored canal under Cricket Lane – the old chamber is being modified and retained as a feature) was a complete quagmire.

The piers and railing along the right-hand side of old Lock 24 have been completed, and the right-hand wall has been extended up to the inspection chamber. The wall has been topped off with blue bricks, and the bank above graded and planting has started. The blue brick wall alongside the neighbouring garden has been rebuilt and pointed and is once more in good condition. The left-hand wall has been progressed and is moving forward with concrete behind, and the loose block wall above the towpath line has been extended.

Pictures by LHCRT

Further progress at pound 25, digging out and getting ready to concrete the next sections of basin floor

Work has started to relocate the canal towpath above old lock 24 onto the southern boundary and also to reduce its height. This will then, in turn, allow the next few metres of south canal wall to be constructed

Progress Lapal Canal

Lapal Canal Trust’s work to create a wharf and winding hole to enable boats to enter the restored canal at Selly Oak is nearing completion

Lapal Canal Restoration of Whitehouse’s Wharf

Lapal Canal Trust are working on the restoration of the disused 5.5 miles of the Dudley No.2 Canal between the current limit of navigation at Hawne Basin, Halesowen and the junction with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in Selly Oak.

The Dudley No2 Canal was completed in 1798 to provide a more direct route via the south of Birmingham from the coalfields of the Black Country to London. It included the 2.2 mile Lapal Tunnel and a 60ft high embankment through Leasowes Park. The tunnel suffered a collapse in 1917 that was not repaired, but the remaining sections remained in use until the mid 1950s. More details can be found on our website Lapal.org and our Facebook page.

The connection to the W&B was lost to a retail park, but the re-instatement of the link has commenced with the Whitehouse’s Wharf construction which is nearing completion. Whitehouse’s Wharf was an original feature of the site and provided the winding hole (turning point) for the canal but was located to the left of the lime kilns shown on the drawing. The construction of a new Whitehouse’s Wharf is necessary to provide the winding hole to access the new section of canal around the retail park – because the

junction is too tight for boats to turn into the Lapal Canal from the Worcester direction, so they will need to carry on to the winding hole, turn and come back to the junction. This is shown at the bottom right of the sketch.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, broke ground for us on the construction of this 16 weeks ago. Since then the topsoil was removed revealing the piling which had installed previously. The height of the piling was adjusted to suit the capping. Concrete backing and anchor rods were installed then the capping beam constructed and oak fenders fitted.

There have been challenges along the way with equipment breakdowns and cofferdam leaks but we have made better progress recently with our contractor, Land & Water Services, working the weekend to catch up. We have now removed 75% of the soil and puddle clay is going in. The autonomous puddling machine providing some entertainment for passers-by (see picture). The lowering of the brick wall that can be seen in the left of the photo will allow for a consistent depth to be achieved across the entrance to the wharf.

Over the next two weeks the remaining soil should be gone and the remaining construction of the final capping beam section and surrounding paths will commence. Hopefully by the next issue we can report on the completion of works. Justin Malpass Pictures by LCT

Close-up of the autonomous puddling machine