Bodge job was not for moorings

Published: Friday, 02 July 2010

THE bodge job by the contractors at Marple where they left debris  in the canal was not to improve moorings but the towpath!

It was Graham Lambden who complained in NbW that contractors working by the moorings at Marple on the Peak Forest Canal had apparently ignored all the large masonry slabs (the photograph shows the boat unable to be moored close to the bank) which over the years had fallen in the cut, and just did a cosmetic job,  remarking:

"This mooring sums up BW's attitude. Leave it looking nice for walkers and sod the boaters. Such a shame when the contractors already had the lifting gear there on site and were busy installing new masonry slabs to totally ignore the huge slabs lying in wait for unsuspecting boaters to run into!"

Was for the towpath

The reply from British Waterways is that to solve the problem signs are to be erected, but the work wasn't for the moorings anyway, it was for the towpath, with David Baldacchino, Waterway Manager, Manchester and Pennine Waterways explaining:

"There is one section here where there is a rock shelf that prevents craft from mooring—we are putting in warning signs to that effect. It is clear though that further work is needed here and our contractor has been mobilized to return to the site to clear this. I expect that this should be complete within the month.

"There will be more moorings as a consequence of this work than were there previously. The original project was to improve/secure the towpath not create moorings and has been a success from that perspective."