Handmade canal locks craned into place

Work has begun to restore lock gates across Greater Manchester's historical canal network.

A team has started fitting new handmade gates at Lock 80 on the Rochdale Canal, a waterway opened in 1804 as the first of three trans-Pennine canals, running between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire.

The new gates, at the lock to the east of the city centre in Manchester, were handcrafted from oak in Yorkshire, before being craned into place.

Each leaf of the upstream gate weighs one-and-a-half tonnes (1,500 kg), and the downstream leaves weigh two-and-a-half tonnes (2,500 kg). They replace gates that were installed at the turn of the millennium.

It comes after canal gates were replaced in the stretch of canal running through Manchester's Gay Village, in February.

The Canal and River Trust, the charity that cares for canals and waterways across England and Wales, said the work was one of hundreds of projects over the next five months set to maintain the 2,000-mile canal network.

This year's programme will see the replacement of 136 lock gate leaves – the individual doors or panels – as well as repairs to historic locks, bridges, embankments and other infrastructure.

Elsewhere in the North West, there will also be repairs to five locks on the Marple Flight on the Peak Forest Canal in Greater Manchester and two locks on the Wigan Flight of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Lancashire.

Canal and River Trust chief executive Campbell Robb said: "These repairs and renewals are critical to keeping canals open, safe and working for the millions of people who use and enjoy them."

"As the charity that cares for 2,000 miles of historic canals and rivers, we know these waterways don't maintain themselves."

Robb added: "Without ongoing investment and expert conservation, locks, bridges, embankments and other structures gradually deteriorate, putting at risk a national treasure that benefits people, nature and local communities across the country."

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