Grantham Canal lock saved

WORK to replace the top gates at Lock 18 at Woolsthorpe, on the Grantham Canal will start on Monday 28th November, ensuring that the navigable stretch of the waterway from the A1 to Woolsthorpe can be further extended and the other locks at Woolsthorpe can be used.

The existing lock gates will be lifted by crane on Monday, and the new lock gates will be installed on Tuesday, with the work having been made possible by the Grantham Canal Society which has raised over £16,000 to fund the cost of the new gates.

Further £10,000

But Mike Stone, Chairman of the Society stated they still need to raise a further £10,000 to cover all the costs involved, and is appealing for donations, adding:

"The importance of this project cannot be overstated, without the intervention of the Society, Lock 18's future was bleak. The lock suffered partial collapse of its offside wall in 2008. British Waterways, the owners of the canal, proposed that, in the absence of funding to carry out the necessary repairs, it should be filled in with ballast. Ultimately this was avoided and the cost of the repair was covered by a funding package put together by the Society and the Inland Waterways Association.

"Now we need to step into the breach once more, and restore the lock to full working order with new gates. Much of the money we have raised originates from the income of the Society's the Three Shires trip boat, which has been extremely popular this year.

"This is a very exciting moment to be able to proceed with the replacement of the gates and to bring this stretch of water back into use for boats. Witnessing a working lock is a tremendous thing, whether you are on the canal or the towpath. Importantly the Society's intervention has ensured that the navigable stretch of the Grantham canal from the A1 to Woolsthorpe can be further extended and the other locks at Woolsthorpe can be used."

Hargreaves Lock Gates of Halifax has been appointed as the contractor. The company was formerly known as Callis Mill, and they built and installed the gates at Locks 17 and 16 of the Grantham Canal. Hargreaves are recognised as a contractor to British Waterways, and have made gates for the Huddersfield, Rochdale, Chesterfield and Grantham canals. The gates they are installing for Lock 18 are of the same design as those at Locks 17 and 16.