Emergency repairs are being carried out on the Macclesfield Canal at Bollington in Macclesfield after a leak was discovered during a routine inspection.
Temporary dams have been installed either end of a 750-metre section of the canal between bridges 26 and 27, which has now been drained. After building a special road using ‘bog mats’ to get excavators and other equipment into the bottom of the canal, contractors are now underway with repairs to fix the leak.
“The Macclesfield Canal is extremely popular for boaters and an important part of the local community,” said David Baldacchino, Canal & River Trust waterway manager. “While a definite date for reopening can’t be given right now we hope it won’t take too long to sort out.
“The specialist team carrying out the fish rescue were amazed at the number of fish in the canal. Large quantities of perch, roach and bream have been rescued from this stretch which is very encouraging in terms of the canal’s general water quality.”
CRT project manager David Thorne added: “Our contractors, Kier, will be working hard to carry out these emergency repairs as speedily as possible. We plan to remove silt, repair damaged areas and then backfill with clay to the normal canal bed level. Over the next week or so we expect to continue a process of investigation and repairs, extending the road in the canal bed as we go along. This is a precise process, as access is difficult and it is a relatively confined location, but we’re hoping to get the canal reopened soon.”
The towpath is closed during the repairs with diversions in place between bridge 25 (Holehouse Lane) and bridge 28 (Grimshaw Lane).
Regular updates will be available on the CRT website https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices or by ringing the customer information line on 0303 040 4040.
