Chester & Merseyside Branch
Northgate cutting towpath which has been closed to pedestrians for 4 years is finally open and available to all.
SUMMER 2019
Towpath in Chester reopened at last! Around 4 years ago the canal towpath through the Northgate Cutting in Chester was closed. This was due, we were told, to the risk of injury to towpath users from rocks falling from the rock face below the city walls. The canal itself was never closed. The towpath opened briefly during the four years, when some fences were erected to protect the path, but it closed again shortly afterwards. The closure was an inconvenience for boaters, but especially so for Chester residents and visitors as it provides a pleasant, traffic free and level walking and cycling route across the city. The Canal and River Trust and Cheshire West and Chester Council spent the four years engaged in a legal wrangle about who owned the rock face and thus was responsible for the work necessary to reopen the path. Meanwhile IWA members continued to put pressure on Councilors and Officers of the Council as well as Officers of the Canal and River Trust asking them to set aside the legal battle and agree to share the cost of opening the towpath. This they eventually decided to do and the necessary work was done earlier this year and the path re-opened in May. I personally am very grateful to Charlie Seward from the Council and Dave Clarkson from CRT for their help. Ann Farrell