ESSENTIAL works to replace 15 lock gates at Huddersfield Narrow Canal are well under way.
And now the public have the chance to see some of the £500,000 repairs which are being carried out as part of British Waterways £50 million national winter maintenance programme.
With just five months to go until the Government puts the canals and rivers into the Canal & River Trust, many of Britain’s canals and rivers will be receiving a vital winter makeover to help keep the 200 year-old waterway network working to ensure they are preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Open days are being hosted early in the New Year on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to offer visitors the chance to view an empty lock chamber and find out how they work from operational staff.
There will also be an opportunity to catch an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse of Standedge Tunnel and how the nation’s 2,000-mile canal and river network is being preserved.
The dates for the Open Days are:
Lock 40E, Marsden, West Yorkshire: Tuesday, January 24;
Lock 31W, Diggle, Lancashire: Monday, February 20.
David Baldacchino, British Waterways’ Waterway Manager for the Manchester & Pennine region said: “These open days really allow people to get behind the scenes and learn what it takes to keep our 18th century canals in working order. Our waterways are a much-loved national asset that are a tremendous example of our industrial heritage and these are all essential works to keep the waterways in the best possible condition we can for the benefit of the millions of customers who visit them each year.”
The transfer to the Canal & River Trust has seen Professor Walter Menzies as the chairman of the new Manchester & Pennine Waterways Partnership.
Mr Menzies and waterway manager David Baldacchino, are now looking for a further eight to 12 people who want to actively get involved and advise on how canals in Manchester, Cheshire and Yorkshire are used and looked after.
The Partnership will play a key role in deciding how the local waterways should operate when, in 2012, they leave British Waterways and become part of the Canal & River Trust.
Further information on all open days can be found by visiting www.waterscape.com/canalopendays.
People interested in applying can find further information on http://www.waterscape.com/trust adverts and application forms will be available. Applications are invited up until January 27, 2012 and will be followed by interviews.
