Winter overhaul for the 'Narrow'

Published: Wednesday, 18 November 2009

NEARLY half a million pounds is being spent on maintenance work on the Huddersfield Narrow this winter.

There will be work on many locks, with gates being replaced, the one in the picture being at Hopper Lock (40E) that needed a very high jib crane to negotiate all the trees surrounding the lock.

An important part of the maintenance will be the repairs to the breach at Ramsden's Lock (14E) that caused the closure of the waterway (and incidentally our booked cruise through the tunnel!).

The new lock gates have all been manufactured at the British Waterways' Stanley Ferry Workshop in Wakefield. The old lock gates will be recycled and reused for other purposes.

David Baldacchino, Waterways Manager for British Waterways Manchester & Pennine region, explained:

"Lock gate making and fitting is an extremely skilled and traditional trade, and one that remains essential to our waterways. My staff put a huge amount of planning and dedicated work in to ensure that the canals stay open, accessible and in good working order and lock gate replacements such as this are a prime example of that."