Macclesfield Canal breach will take at least three months to repair

IT HAS BEEN announced by Canal & River Trust that the breach on the Macclesfield Canal will take three months to repair!

Yet a search shows that under British Waterways it took two weeks in similar circumstances, Janet Friend reports.

Stop further loss

A pound on Macclesfield Canal was drained by the breach with both the waterway and towpath then closed, with stop planks being installed at bridges to stop water loss.

The hole in the bank was then plugged to prevent any further leakage, with the trust stating:

"The leak formed between the bed of the canal and a culvert which worsened over the course of the weekend and caused “significant damage" with towpath and canal bed washed away, leaving a substantial hole in the canal wall and towpath.”

We were then informed that the trust's teams had been assessing the damage and arranging a fish rescue, with the navigation and towpath remaining closed until further notice. It is now hoping for help, it asking:

Want support

“We’re asking people to support our work, either through a donation, volunteering or spreading the word about how important it is to keep canals alive.”

We have shown the above picture to a number of engineers, and the opinion is that two weeks could easily see it 'done and dusted'.  But alas not the Canal & River Trust's way.