Record year of success!

THE Canal & River Trust has just released a statement entitled 'A record year of success for the nation's canals', telling of its wonderful work and how the canals are in better condition than ever.

Yet the article in narrowboatworld (Falling apart) told a very different story of three stoppages for boaters over four days, but we were wrong, for there was a new record, it was four stoppages in four days!  None of which were featured in CaRT's 'success' story.

No replacement

For in addition to boaters being stopped by failures on the Trent & Mersey, Leeds & Liverpool and Ashton canals over last week-end, our Keith Gudgin tells us that to make up the four stoppages, Harecastle Tunnel was closed all day Sunday.  The reason being the tunnel man had called in sick, and CaRT of course had no replacement.  So no boating through the tunnel on the busiest day of the week.

The 'success' story—and story it is—trumpets its vast increase in visitor numbers, its increase in volunteering and its 'repairing and improving' the waterway structures, but tell this to the poor sods held up for days through lock failures such as the narrow Dallow Lock in Burton, with Dan White in the picture, who was held up for days that completely ruined a trip to Coventry Basin and back.

Counted 29 boats

The reality is the long line of waiting boats, held up all over the system as locks keep failing though lack of maintenance, with our correspondent Helen Cripps, also held up by the failure at Burton telling of the anger from people out of Mercia who were stuck at both sides of the lock, her counting 29 boats and telling:

"Dallow Lock has been in a crap condition for months, but CaRT is no longer interested, it just waits until it fails then mends it, but doesn't seem in any great hurry as we have been here three days, and not the first either whilst the workers ponce about."

"If this keeps happening there will be very few boats moving, or perhaps that it what CaRT wants.  It is not good enough."

Still closed

The Lancaster Canal is still closed at the aqueduct, the Leeds & Liverpool is still closed on the Leigh Branch and the Aston Canal is still closed.