Canal maintenance and repair must be continuous

FURTHER to the observations made by contributor James Henry (narrowboatworld 24th November), I am a little perplexed (understatement), writes Orph Mable.

Having seen the headline stoppage list broadcast by CaRT and then subsequently reading about the several reductions to this list due to the emergency repairs that have been carried out, has caused my now aged brain to spin.

Will only get worse

Having been connected with canals for about 30 years and seen all manner of management styles come and go, one thing remains constant; canal maintenance and repair must be continuous and if left ‘undone’ will only get worse.

So to my mind—call me naïve if you must—but if planned maintenance that was deemed essential is put off then more expensive ‘emergency repair’ will be required at a later date which will cause more inconvenience and higher costs to all.

What is needed from CaRT is a costed/funded plan to show how they are going to get the needed maintenance done to restore the status quo or I am certain—yes certain—that we will see, in the not too distant future, permanent canal closures.