What winter works?—as three more cancelled!

WHAT winter works indeed, as five are cancelled already this week!

Three more

If it carries on like this, there will hardly be any winter works left after the long list first announced, as Keith Gudgin reports three more cancelled.

Goldstone Culvert No 2, South of Tyrley Locks, on the Shropshire Union Canal needed winter work but has been cancelled, with the reason/excuse that Canal & River Trust has to constantly review its priorities and as more urgent works have been introduced into the winter works programme, this project has been re-prioritised.

Then this ends with the information that 'some essential repair works have needed to be carried out at our Bradley Workshop. This caused a 6 week delay in gate production which means that 6 lock gate leaves have been deferred for a future year', which is difficult to understand.

Two for the Shroppie

The Shropshire Union comes in for two cancellations, with the Culvert 51 at Hampton Bank near Welshampton being removed from the winter works programme, our being told: 'Our design development work to date has identified the need for more site investigations requiring third party access agreements and more detailed design work to ensure the most effective repair'.

Then another culvert repair cancelled, No 62 at Ellesmere, our being informed that though the detailed design development work is complete the repair programme will extend well beyond the current restriction time frame so we are rescheduling this project for completion in the 2023 winter works programme.

It can only be hoped that none of these culverts that need attention develop into breaches, as has occurred in the past.