No Liverpool Link access until September

THE collapsed culvert causing the breach on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal will not be repaired until the end of August.

This means there will be no access to the Liverpool Link for the next two months—the height of the season, Keith Gudgin tells us.

Can't abstract water

Though work is underway to install the two dams by each side of the breach, there can still be no boat movement on the Liverpool side as permission has not been given by the Environment Agency to abstract water from the Alt, that is needed to fill the 25 miles long pound, owing to the river's low level.

Though it is over two weeks since the breach occurred, there was no attempt to build dams manually as would have happened in the past, but they were delayed whilst an access track was laid to bring in machinery to do the work.

Repair stretched to 10 weeks

Should the dams have been constructed straight away, over two weeks would not have been lost, meaning that the six weeks giving to repair would not have now stretched to 10 weeks.

With permission not being given for abstraction from the river, there is no date given when the 25 miles pound into Liverpool will re-open, and there is a possibility that should the lack of rain continue it will not even be open when the breach is actually repaired.