Victor reckons the chickens have come home to roost

THERE is little doubt that Canal & River Trust's chickens have definitely come home to roost.

Time and time again I have told that its current system of 'wait until it breaks then mend it', is not only wrong but expensive—and has been all too often proved—very, very expensive.

Let's take the current case of the failing culverts—three having failed over the past weeks.

The one on the Leeds & Liverpool failed in November but were told last week on the 13th, that the navigation will close until the end of January—altogether a long closure of seven weeks.

Then this month, December, there were two more culvert failures. One on the Shroppie on Wednesday last week, the 13th, that will close this time until the end of January and again for seven weeks!

Then there was yet another culvert failure last week on the Macclesfield this time, but now getting so embarrassing, no information was given of how long the navigation will be closed!

But just think, if someone had taken a peep with a decent light, the dripping of water from the canals into the culverts would have been noticed and something done to prevent their complete collapse.

But no, even though so many now have new steps down to the culverts, they were simply allowed to fail, stopping use for boaters for many weeks and costing a fortune to repair.

The price of 'waiting until it breaks', eh?

Still on the same theme

Still on the same theme indeed was yesterday's worse news that a breach had stopped boating on the Kennet & Avon for three months!

And as the breach is on an embankment the pressure means that it has to be completely drained for a mile. Then much later work to start.

I have in the past reported a leak from the Coventry Canal, even sending the picture showing the puddles of water coming from the canal, but nothing was done until over a year later when a long stoppage—of course—was needed.

It was perhaps not bad enough, so was left until it was worse, so contractors could later make themselves a packet and of course close the navigation.

Little incentive

There really does seem to be little incentive to get, even dangerous situations quickly undertaken to make safe.

For telling of the 'significant leak' on the Kennet & Avon, the trust in it's stoppage notice tells—'A permanent repair needs to be implemented as soon as possible, given concerns for the stability of the embankment'.

Obviously knowing its danger goes on to add—'Efforts are being made to commence the work as soon as possible'.

So then tells that work will start at the end of January—in seven weeks!

Words really do fail me!

Victor Swift—telling tales for 23 years