Canal trust to move out

THE Kennet & Avon Canal Trust has no alternative but to move out of its canal centre at Devizes Wharf as it just cannot continue to face the ever increasing cost of repairs.

Last year one of the toilets in the centre fell through a rotten floor that cost the trust £20,000 to repair, but the total needed for a complete repair and renovation of the building would cost an alarming £500,000, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Great deal of money

The building that is thought to be 200 years old, houses the trust museum and shop but needs a great deal of money spending on it to get it up to standard, and so the trust will leave the premises at the end of the present boating season.

A beam had to be supported when it was found to be cracked. An  inspection revealed the wiring did not comply with regulations, and would cost £10,000 to correct and the heating system is worn out and so requires new radiators and a new boiler.

The rear wall of the building is crumbling with even daylight showing through the cracks.  It is costing the trust £40,000 a year to maintain the building, let alone the money needed to bring it up to standard, so the trust has decided to move out.