Stoppage on the Rochdale Canal

Statement from British Waterways

25 September 2004
Stoppage: Lock 59, 6th Laneside Lock - Lock 60, Boarshaw Lock

The Rochdale Canal remains closed between locks 59 to 60, near Slattocks. British Waterways commenced site investigations immediately following the landslide. However, it is now clear that, unusually, the failed culvert and land is not in the ownership of the Waterways Trust (owner of the canal). Furthermore we have been unable to reach agreement with the landowner, who has prevented our engineers from completing ground investigations. We are currently taking legal advice on whether British Waterways' emergency powers can be applied in these circumstances so that we can accelerate our investigations and commence reinstatement of the embankment. Given the delay in securing access, we regret that the major engineering works cannot be completed prior to November 2004: we are making provision to mobilise British Waterways resources as soon as the land and legal issues are resolved

Neptune sails through Rochdale

28 May 2004
Neptune on route from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge.
Entering Lock 53. St Martin's Church Spire at Castleton in the background.
M62 in the background.
Entering Lock 52.
Castleton. Neptune going under the Manchester to Rochdale Road.
Castleton Lock No. 51
March Barnes Skew Bridge.
Stuck on the bottom at Gorrels way! Dredging needed!!
Off the bottom and approaching the short tunnel at Edinburgh Way. A627M.
Approaching "The Port of Rochdale"
Going under the Oldham Road Bridge. Rochdale.
Leaving Lock 50 at Oldham Road Rochdale.
Young enthusiasts helping to close the Lock Gate.

From the Pennine Waterways Newsletter Number 68

12 March 2004

P e n n i n e W a t e r w a y s N e w s l e t t e r 6 8

March 11t h 2004

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Welcome to the latest e-mail newsletter from Pennine Waterways!

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The last newsletter reported on the landslip that has blocked the Rochdale Canal near Hebden Bridge.

British Waterways' investigations are now complete and work to stabilise the embankment began on Tuesday 2nd March.

A temporary road was been constructed to provide access to the slip site for plant equipment. The area has been fenced off to

make it safe. A lagoon has been created for the wet earth to dry out before being taken off site, this being the most cost-effective method. The cost of the repair works is expected to be £250,000.

These works are planned to take 5 weeks to complete and the canal is expected to be re-opened for navigation on Thursday

8th April 2004. Until then, the canal is closed between locks 13 and 14, with winding holes at lock 12 and Bridge 24. For the latest

information about this stoppage, phone the Waterway Office on 01925 847700. During the work, the towpath has been closed between Callis Bridge and Burnt Acres Bridge, with a diversion along the main road.

Pictures of the landslip can be seen at:

Canal to return to its heydays

Rochdale Observer Saturday 25 October 2003

New Waterway Strategy could help Create 1500Jobs


For most of last summer, Rochdale Canal - certainly locally - was a long stretch of water without boats.
British Waterways had inherited scores of old locks, which had reached the end of their natural life.
In summer, though, when the canal should have been alive with boats, three of those locks suffered 'catastrophic' failures.
Waterways general manager Adrian Sains said boats were in the locks when the gates failed. It was, he said, 'extremely alarming' for the boaters.
Since then British Waterways has spent £800,000 replacing the worst affected locks and four more new locks are to be opened soon.
It was against this upbeat news that the Rochdale Canal Corridor regeneration strategy was launched this week.
Commissioned by
Rochdale and Oldham councils, in conjunction with British Waterways, it out lines how the 32-mile canal will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the areas and communities it passes through.
Areas such as Castleton, built long before planning laws were heard of, which could thrive as a result of a vibrant waterway passing through its higgledy-pig-gledly urban heart.
The Rochdale Canal Basin, home to the ancient Halfpenny Bridge, could also benefit, along with Ealees and Burn in Littleborough.
These areas could gain from proposals focusing on canalside developments where people can live and work, visitor attractions, a waterside network of safe green spaces, and walking routes.
The strategy could help create 15,000 jobs and the construction or re-use of office, leisure and shopping floorspace, plus the reclamation and recovery of 530 hectares of land.
Not bad for a canal with hardly any boats on it all a month or two ago.
Rochdale Council's Robin Parker said: "We have always said that restoring the- Rochdale Canal was about much more than getting boats across the Pennines.
"The strategy sets out how the restored canal will bring real benefits to the communities along its length, in terms of jobs, new homes and business premises and improvements to the local environment."
An action plan has already been drawn up covering the Trub area of Castleton, the Rochdale Canal basin off Oldham Road and in Ealees and Durn.
It envisages short-term mooring and boating facilities and a boat builder's yard opposite Whipp and Bourne, residential flats, apartments and town houses between the canal and Manchester Road and two canalside pubs.
The Rochdale Basin master plan calls for the conversion of old mills for leisure and community use over the next decade. A new public square between the mills on the Durham Street side of the canal and Oldham Road will be linked by a footbridge.
The existing Wellfield Surgery could be moved to the opposite side of the canal, alongside waterside apartments.
At Ealees, pubs, restaurants and cafes are envisaged, along with flats and apartments. And at Durn, further east along the canal, there could be a boatyard, long and short-term moorings, a chandlery, workshops and town houses and apartments.
Andy Zuntz, Rochdale Council's director of regeneration, said in the case of the Canal Basin, discussions had already taken place with landowners, the works had been posted and sources of funding identified.

Rochdale ObserverSaturday 25 September 2003

Crayfish plan a winner for canal team


by Dave Appleton
AN INNOVATIVE environmental scheme to protect rare white-claw crayfish in the Rochdale Canal has won a conservation award from British Waterways.
Special backwashes were built on the canal to help protect the endangered species when water levels drop.
As a result, the native crayfish are now thriving in the canal, according to recent surveys.
Canal crayfish, pictured right, often live in lock by-washes as they closely resemble a river habitat where there is strong flowing, well-oxygenated water.
Ecologists
However, as the Rochdale Canal, which was officially opened to navigation in July last year, is now operational, more boat traffic has led to an occasional drop in flow as water levels fluctuate as the locks are used.
To prevent the crayfish from being exposed, ecologists and waterways staff constructed a series of pools in several by-washes, which retain water during lower flows.
The simple, but innovative, weirs are built with quick-setting cement and provide permanent pools approximately one to two metres wide with a depth of 15cm at the deepest point.
Ecologist Jason Leach said the weirs provide the perfect hiding places for the crayfish.
"These weir pools act as shelters for the native crayfish ensuring they remain hidden from predators such as herons and mink," he said.
Once the water levels return to normal the crayfish get on with their usual routine.
A British Waterways spokesman says the weirs are a simple solution to ensure crayfish populations remain healthy within the by-washes.
The white-clawed crayfish is the only species of crayfish native to the UK.
It is widely distributed throughout England and Wales.

Canal is locked up by rotten gates

Rochdale Observer Saturday 12 July 2003. by Stephen Foster

THE ROCHDALE Canal, which cost £23.8M to reopen last July, has been closed to traffic for the last three months for health and safety reasons – and there's no indication when it will be open again.
British Waterways (BW) confirmed the problem was rotting wooden lock gates. Boats had become stuck and had to be hoisted out of the water by crane and transported elsewhere on the canal system.
A BW spokesman said three wooden lock gates had recently been repaired, but 19 more were presently being inspected to make sure they complied with health and safety regulations. A re-opening date would be mere speculation.
Businessman and boat owner Michael Bamford fears the closure of the canal could have a long-term adverse affect on the canal's economic viability.
He said: “People are being diverted onto the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Rochdale's loss is Huddersfield's gain. It was only restored 12 months before the Rochdale Canal. People on holiday on the canal will not have been able to travel the South Pennines Ring because of the closures. It could give the Rochdale Canal a bad name and people will no longer trust the Rochdale Canal. A lot of money has been spent on the canal, but it is not working.”
Mr Bamford, who runs a print finishing business in Heywood, said he would like to have his boat moored on the Rochdale Canal, but he has been forced to have it moored on the Trent and Mersey at Northwich, which means a 45-minute commuting journey every day.
British Waterways communications manager Lynn Pegler confirmed that the stretch of the canal from Failsworth right through to Todmorden, including the Rochdale lengths, had been closed for up to three months.
“Not much traffic is going down the canal at all. We are in a difficult position and we have had to make some difficult decisions because we cannot put public safety at risk. Various alternative arrangements have been made for boaters.
“The main company affected has been Shire Cruises at Sowerby Bridge.”
She pointed out that the lock gates were not part of the equation when it came to re-opening the canal. British Waterways South Pennine Ring manager Terry Horan said: “Public safety is paramount. After the failure of three gates, we had no alternative but to do a full inspection of all similar gates. We are well aware that we are unfortunately entering the peak cruising season and have worked hard with local boat hire companies and private boaters to try and minimise the inconvenience.”

The Official Re-opening
of the
Rochdale Canal
will take place on
Friday 28 March 2003
at
Sandbrook Park Rochdale
(at the end of the A627M)
from 1p.m.
First photographs of The Official Re-opening


Some of the Officials about to board the canal boat at March Barns Bridge to take them to the opening ceremony.
The Official boat about to set off.
Michael Meacher unveiling the plaque
Michael Meacher speaking tothe guests.

The first Boat to be built in Rochdale since the Restoration of the Rochdale Canal.
Roche Valley Boatbuilders
Canal Street, off Oldham Road, Rochdale. OL11 1AB

See the article below from the Rochdale Observer;

"All Shipshape and ready to Launch"

News from the Rochdale Observer Saturday 1 March 2003

Menu for a winner
A DIVORCEE with a disabled daughter is determined to beat the sceptics and make
it in a man's world.
Lisa Holt has taken over the Waterside Inn by the Rochdale Canal in Hollingworth Road and aims to turn it into a pub- restaurant.
She admits she has possibly taken on a bigger task than she first imagined, but is determined to succeed, particularly as there are so many who doubt she can do it.
Lisa said: "I've had to deal with a lot of builders in doing this work and one or two of them have asked me if I didn't think this is too big a job for a woman?
"They think I'm a pushover but that kind of comment has only made me more determined to succeed.
"One of my daughters, 14-years-old Rebecca, has cerebral palsy and I need a job or business where I can be near her
"So I've bought the house next door to live in and I'm converting that at the same time.
"I've put everything I’ve got into this and Rebecca and my other two daughters, Kimberley and Olivia, are all enthusiastic. I've got to make it work for them."
Lisa, who hails from Smithy Bridge, was determined to make a new life for herself and her children after her divorce.
She moved into the pub last October and has applied to Rochdale Council for planning permission to extend the pub to allow diners to overlook the newly reopened canal.
If all the work goes to plan, she hopes to open her new establishment in June or July Lisa said: "I'm doing a lot of the work myself and spend every weekend up to my knees in dirt and broken plaster `
"It's hard work being a mum and a building site manager at the same time and there are times I wonder if it's going to work.
"But I'm going to do everything I can to make this work.

News from the Rochdale Observer Wednesday 26 February 2003
Article by Stephen Foster

All shipshape and ready for launch

A PASSION for canal narrowboats has dominated the life of John Sewell. Now he has started making a living as Rochdale's only boat builder
Fittingly he has managed to find a temporary workshop in Canal Street, off Oldham Road.
Ultimately he wants to find bigger premises and set up a chandlery, a facility lacking on the reopened Rochdale Canal.
He was 18 when he owned his first boat, but his hobby really took off 15 years ago when he bought another boat and began cruising the canals in Cheshire and the Potteries at the weekends and during the holidays with his wife, Gerry.
The 43-year-old joiner fitted out the inside of the boat himself.
And he made such a good job of it that he decided to turn it into a commercial venture. John moved into his premises off
Oldham Road last week.
He now has room to work on three boats at any time.
He employs another joiner and a laboure.r
Business
At present, John's main business is the building company Ashworth Construction.
But he is hoping that Roch Valley Boat Builders will take off later this year.
Gerry is helping with administrative and office work.
John said: "We are canal enthusiasts, and it will be nice if we can make a living out of something we thoroughly enjoy."
His boats are advertised in national boating magazines and he has had customers from all over the UK.
John tailor-makes the boats to the owners' specifications and they are a major investment, costing in the region of £60,000.
Some are weekend pleasure craft and others are made specifically for people to live on.
His ultimate ambition is to set up a chandler's shop; selling supplies for boats including provisions and provide pump-out facilities for canal boat toilets.
At present there are no pump-out facilities on the full stretch of the canal in the borough.
The boating business is a dream come true for the Sewells.
John said: "We never thought it would happen.
"We have been talking about it for so long and we just decided to grasp the nettle."