Closures and updates

IN ADDITION to the closure of the Oxford by a landslip there were two more closures yesterday.

The Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation was closed by an hydraulic leak on Eastwood (Sir Frank Price) Lock that has affected both upstream sluices, Keith Gudgin reports.

The repair however will require divers and lifting equipment that as yet are not available. These are being sourced.

Leicester Section

The Leicester Section of the Grand Union has been closed since the 31st January from Kibworth Top Lock (18) to Spinney Lock (24) to allow for a repair of Culvert 44.

This required dams to allow access to the culvert with the work from 1st February for up to eight weeks, the waterway being closed until 27th March.  Showing that culverts are needing longer and longer to fix!

Droitwich

Droitwich Barge Canal and Droitwich Junction Canal, have had their navigations closed since 24th January owing to a build-up of silt.

But now a site meeting has been held between the trust and contractors, deciding on the areas that require dredging, but they do not have a date when this can start.

Nothing is expected this month as an update is not until the end of February.

New Junction Canal

The trust will be opening the Don Doors either today, Thursday, or tomorrow, with the navigation then re-opened. That is the good news.

However the bad news is that though the gearbox has been returned and fixed, it still requires additional work in the future.