Boaters' Update 9 May 2025

Working for boaters

Canal locks and hump-backed bridges are amongst the iconic structures in Britain’s landscape. As you’ll have read over previous editions, we do lots of work to maintain and repair them. Just as important, however, are the many humble swing bridges which give vital access across the canal to farmers and local communities and whose ease of operation is important to ensure unimpeded navigation. One such bridge, on the Macclesfield Canal, reopened before the May Day Bank Holiday weekend following refurbishment:

Royal Oak Bridge back in the swing of things

Royal Oak Swing Bridge, which carries Woodhouse End Road over the Macclesfield Canal in Oakgrove is back open after the completion of an important refurbishment.

Over the centuries the bridge had been reconstructed several times, but increased weight of modern vehicles had taken its toll on the latest iteration. It is one of 13 originally built across the canal and is the only one to carry a public highway.

The refurbishment included an upgrade of the electrical instrumentation, software and hydraulics, which control and drive the bridge to open and close, as well as the bridge bearing and support structure.

We removed, refurbished and re-installed the bridge, using a huge 300-tonne crane, before reopening the bridge to traffic.

Project Manager, Lisa Shaw, explained: "We've been able to successfully carry out a complete upgrade and repairs to fully refurbish the bridge and futureproof it for many years to come.

“The bridge was lifted out and sent away to be stripped down to bare metal, a structural survey was undertaken, which identified remedial works were needed. We replaced the timber deck and bearer beam, bearing plates and several mechanical and electrical components. The bridge has also been treated, repainted and returned to site as a completely refurbished unit.

“A new control pedestal has been installed and relocated to the towpath side of the bridge, to improve the view of the waterway for boaters. The traffic management systems on the eastern and western approaches have also been updated.

"We are grateful to boaters and the local community for their patience during the disruption while the works were taking place. The extensive work to upgrade the structure means it is now a stronger, safer and more resilient bridge."

Here, there and everywhere

When you’re out on the cut you’ll often see colleagues and volunteers carrying out maintenance. This is usually our planned preventative maintenance which, in summary, are the hundreds of tasks that are planned in to help ensure the network is kept open.

Away from the planned works, and with such old infrastructure, the ‘reactive team’ is also a key group of people when there are unexpected repairs to undertake. In the video below, you’ll hear from Mark Banks, part of the London & South East reactive team, on some of their latest work:

Better Boating Plan update

Late last year we announced our plan for better boating which set out the Trust’s commitment to improving your experience as a boater across four key areas: Keeping canals open for boating, Getting the basics right, Boater facilities and Better communication & customer service.

Within the key area of Getting the basics right, our operations team is responsible for improvements in planned preventive maintenance of locks and moving bridges, paddle repairs, grass cutting, tree safety management and waste and recycling.

To give us the best chance of success across these areas of work we have been looking at how we better plan in and prioritise what needs doing. The targets we have set are ambitious but in the key areas, such as grass cutting, we have secured additional help to augment what’s achieved by our in-house team of colleagues and volunteers.

When it comes to towpath grass cutting, we are largely on target in most regions but have fallen behind schedule in a few areas, especially in Wales and South West. Here, we have prioritised the cutting of locks, landings and mooring sites to ensure boaters have the best possible experience.

Ensuring the delivery of our paddle target remains at the top of the agenda. By the end of winter we bought down the number of faulty paddles to 142. We’ve committed to repairing all the existing faults by spring 2026, as well as repairing any new paddle faults raised within four weeks.

Another change implemented is how we prioritise planned preventive maintenance (PPM), ensuring the things that impact boaters the most are prioritised. So far we have completed our target of 95% of early summer season checks of locks and moving bridges.

This month we will increase tree surveying which will inform our winter tree work programme with a view to better managing those at risk of falling. This will help reduce disruption to navigation, notwithstanding extreme weather events. We have also committed to clear any fallen trees blocking navigation within 48 hours.

As you will have read in previous editions of Boaters’ Update, changes in government legislation mean we must now provide segregated waste bins for general waste, dry mixed recycling, glass and food waste. This change has impacted many organisations over the last month or so and the nation’s waste companies are playing ‘catch-up’.

We are continuing to review those waste sites that are unable to facilitate the additional bins. As you’d expect, this also feeds into our plan for improving our waste management, so apologies for the delay it has caused in achieving our targets for bin collections and overflowing bins.

You may also have seen, in the last Boaters’ Update, that the Trust’s Elsan points, pump out facilities and water points will get a boost over the next five years with an additional investment of £4.5 million. This will standardise and upgrade them, making them more resilient but also easier to repair.   

The actions outlined in our plan for better boating are ambitious and your feedback has shaped what is being prioritised. It is important you can see how we’re doing against the targets set, which you can do so by looking at the dedicated ‘dashboards’ found on our better boating web pages.

This year we are holding regular forums which we’d love you to attend either face to face or virtually. They are great for getting your views on what’s going well and where we might need to reprioritise the limited funds available to improve your time afloat. You can see our calendar of meetings here.

Save water now

We are currently experiencing the driest three-month period in over 90 years. Reservoirs across the country are reported to be 10% lower than usual. We’re also part-way through a programme of major statutory reservoir improvements, as required by law, so we were unfortunately not able to start this season with complete holdings either. These factors are placing considerable pressure on the water situation affecting the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. These are exceptional circumstances, and we want to explain what this means for our boating customers, what we are doing in response, and how we can work together to minimise the impact.

Despite our best efforts to reduce water loss and manage the system carefully, water levels in our feeder reservoirs are continuing to fall as a result of normal lock usage. We are doing everything operationally possible to conserve what water we have. This includes minimising flows where appropriate, reviewing options for filling leaks and managing known losses, coordinating lock operations to reduce wastage and exploring operational restrictions to stretch remaining resources.

Notwithstanding our efforts, the lack of rainfall means that water supplies are now at critical levels, and without significant rainfall in the very near future, we face the real possibility of closures to navigation until we have sufficient rainfall.

At present, we anticipate that the locks will need to close by Tuesday 27 May, and if the situation worsens significantly, closures may have to come into effect as early as Tuesday 20 May. In addition to this, we are preparing for the possibility of short-notice temporary closures. These would be introduced only when absolutely necessary to give the canal a chance to recover water levels in specific sections. Additionally, we must reduce opening hours at certain locks as follows:

From Tuesday 13 May, Bingley 5 Rise, Bingley 3 Rise, Kirkstall Forge and Newlay Locks will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and open Thursday through Monday aligning with reduced operating hours to conserve water.

From Tuesday 27 May the following lock flights will also be closed:

• Wigan Lock Flight (86 to 65)
• Blackburn Lock Flight (57 to 52)
• Johnsons Hillock Lock Flight (64 to 58)
• Barrowford Lock Flight (51 to 45)
• Greenberfield Lock Flight (44 to 42)
• Bank Newton Locks (41 to 36)
• Gargrave (Holme Bridge Lock 30)

If your boat is currently in an area likely to be affected, we strongly recommend using the time before any closure is implemented to relocate to a place where you will continue to have access to customer services, facilities, and support.

We understand how important it is to have time to plan, especially for those cruising or running businesses on the canal. We truly appreciate the circumstances are disappointing and disruptive, particularly for boaters with upcoming trips. That’s why we are committing to giving at least two weeks’ notice ahead of any full closure, so you have time to adjust your plans or move to alternative locations where needed.

What we are doing?

If closures are implemented, we will take additional steps to conserve as much water as possible. During this period affected lock flights will be secured against operation. The gates will be ‘ashed up’ (a traditional method of sealing gates) to reduce leakage and reduce water loss through the lock structures. Although the use of the lock flights will be suspended, cruising between the locks will remain possible where water levels permit, so local movement may still be feasible for many boaters.

This is not a decision we’re making lightly. A great deal of work is underway to prepare for both the short and long term. A dedicated Operational Water Resource Commander has been appointed to lead our response to the drought and coordinate our teams. We are working closely with environmental agencies and local partners to manage every aspect of the situation.

We are monitoring the canal and reservoirs daily, assessing levels and evaluating the best operational decisions to sustain navigation where it is safe and possible. We are also using this time to carry out works that improve the canal’s resilience including continuing to inspect our infrastructure and repair leaks. Future updates will contain more detail on how we will make use of any closed time to carry out leak prevention works.

What you can do to help in the short period before closure?

Your cooperation during this time is essential and deeply appreciated. Here are some things you can do to help reduce strain on the system:

• Share locks where possible and make the best use of the water available.
• Make sure paddles are fully closed once you've passed through a lock.
• Aim for minimal contact when navigating through locks by ensuring gates are fully open as you pass through.
• Pushing gates open using a boat can damage the gate lining, increasing its leakage.
• If you spot a leak or any suspicious activities please call us on 0303 040 4040 or emailing via contact-us

For the current lock opening times until they closed can be found on our dedicated page: Leeds & Liverpool Canal Boating Information

When will the canal reopen?

We’re very sorry, but this depends on rainfall, so we can’t predict. Certain reservoirs respond very quickly to rainfall, so prolonged wet weather in the right place can make a big difference. We are committed to reopening the canal as soon as we can.

Next update

We are committed to keeping you fully informed. Our next scheduled update will be on Friday 16 May, when we will provide a clearer picture of the situation and finally confirm whether closures will be necessary.

Working for boaters – in numbers

With over 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, a list of all the things we’ve been doing over the last fortnight to keep navigations open would be unfeasibly long to collate, but a scan of our stoppage notifications shows that we’ve…

The above list doesn’t include any work conducted purely on towpaths, water management (which there’s always a lot of!), major reservoir projects and so on – it’s just a flavour of what we’ve been doing to help boaters keep moving on the cut!        

Are we fixing the right things?

Even though summer is only just arriving, next week, on Monday 12 May, we’re starting phase one of our winter stoppage programme consultation.

This year the consultation page is more prominent on our website. You can find it here which, for future reference, is in the ‘notices and stoppages’ section.

So, as you know, before we finalise our winter works program, we like to consult with the people who use our waterways to make sure these stoppages cause as little disruption as possible.

Please remember that, until the final programme is published in August, the plan is fluid and subject to a considerable amount of change. Any change made to the programme after it’s published is subject to a vigorous change control process.

We will update the notices if our plans do change as a result of feedback.

Public consultation schedule 2025:

• 12 May – draft notices published for feedback.
• 30 May – deadline for submitting comments and notices will be removed from website for amendments (first round).
• 30 June – revised notices published for more feedback.
• 25 July – deadline for submitting comments and notices, again, removed from website for amendments (second round).
• 11 August – final winter maintenance programme published

2025/26 winter programme dates:

• Pre-Christmas works: 3 November 2025 – 19 December 2025
• Post-Christmas works: 5 January 2026 – 13 March 2026

How to search and comment on winter stoppages

Please note that the proposed winter stoppages, including the map, will be uploaded on Monday 12 May.

Have a look at the list or map below (once uploaded) to find closures in a particular area. Alternatively, you can enter the first two letters of a particular waterway into the search box to see relevant stoppages. By clicking on the ‘Apply filter’ button you can then click on the individual stoppages for more information.

We have made a few changes to the winter works this year, one of them is how we receive your feedback. Please send any comments to [email protected].

We encourage you to comment on as many of the stoppages as you like, as your feedback can help shape a successful programme of winter works.

Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend

As you’ll know, there are times when parts of such an old network need unscheduled work to keep them open and navigable. It’s a 200+ year old living, breathing national treasure that takes a lot of TLC. This is why, when something is damaged or breaks, we set about getting it repaired and operational as soon as we can. This means that from time to time we have to carry out repairs outside of our major winter stoppage programme. So below, you’ll find a list of navigations that have ongoing restrictions that may affect you if you’re planning to get out on the water this weekend:

• Bridgwater & Taunton Canal
• Erewash Canal
• Grand Union Canal
• Huddersfield Broad Canal
• Huddersfield Narrow Canal
• Lancaster Canal
• Leeds & Liverpool Canal
• Oxford Canal
• River Stort
• Rochdale Canal
• South Stratford Canal
• Stainforth & Keadby Canal
• Trent & Mersey Canal
• Walsall Canal
• Weaver Navigation
• Worcester & Birmingham Canal

When restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off. You can find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone in this article.

If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.

Alien invaders

Next week, 12 – 18 May, marks Invasive Species Week. It’s an annual event to raise awareness of the impact of invasive non-native species and the simple things that we can all do to prevent their spread.

Did you also know that over 2,000 plants and animals have been introduced to the UK from all over the world? These are known as non-native species. Most are harmless, indeed many familiar countryside sights (wheat, barley, sheep etc.) are not native, but around 10-15% spread and have a harmful impact, becoming invasive.

On the waterways we suffer severely with things you can see, like giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and floating pennywort.  But there are many species you may not have noticed or cannot easily see as they lurk under the water. Things like zebra mussels will attach to hard surfaces and can block pipes while killer/demon shrimp are such voracious hunters they will eat most of the other invertebrates and fish eggs in the water and change the entire ecosystem.

Some of the biggest issues for boats are the invasive plants. Floating pennywort is one of the villains that can grow at 20cm a day and can easily cover a waterbody if left untended. As it grows so quickly it costs lots of money to manage it, sometimes over £1,000 a day.

All of us can take simple measures to prevent the spread of invasive non-native species. The biggest risks come from tools, equipment and craft being taken from one waterbody to another. But even limiting the spread of an invasive non-native species within a waterway can lessen the burden they cause. There are actions that all boaters can take to limit their spread, the key thing is to follow Check, Clean, Dry principles:

• Ensure that all materials and equipment that come into contact with the water, including clothing, are checked for any bits of plant, animals or mud and it is all removed; then ensure it is cleaned, ideally with hot water, but a run under a tap or with a container of fresh water will dislodge things you cannot see. The key step is to ensure everything is dried, ideally in the sun for a couple of days. Some species can live in damp conditions for days or a week; Doing this before starting a long journey, or cruising on to a new waterway, and then repeating regularly while on the journey is very important.
• It is not possible to Check, Clean, Dry boats that are in the water but for things like cruiser style boats that are taken out on trailers it is very important to do the Check, Clean, Dry process every time they are removed. Do not forget the trailer itself as plants can easily become lodged in one of the many crevices.
• It is ideal to keep the maintenance of your boat regular and this can help prevent the spread of invasive non-native species as well. When it is taken out of the water ask the boat yard/marina to ensure it is cleaned thoroughly before work is undertaken and remember to ask for the entire hull to be cleaned (even if it’s not being worked on).
• One of the biggest risks for spreading invasive non-native species is boats being taken out of the water and transported on land for long distances. If you are buying a boat, or moving one, it must be Checked, Cleaned and ideally allowed to Dry, before going into the new waterbody. A good jet wash when it is taken out of the water is ideal.

There are also practical measures you can do to try to limit the spread of invasive non-native species:

• If you can, steer clear of cruising through areas of weed. Sometimes this is unavoidable, so ensure that bits caught on the boat are removed and disposed of in a bin. Do not put it back in the waterbody. This also applies for weed hatches and props.
• Do not disturb areas of invasive plants on land: knocking Himalayan balsam for example can cause the seeds to spread or get into the mud and then onto boots.
• If you do activities like fishing, paddling or sailing follow good practice guides from the Angling Trust, Paddle UK and the Royal Yachting Association.
• Volunteers are key to helping us manage these trouble species so look out for events in your local area and come down and help.

Did you know?

There is such a thing as an ‘Alert species’. In the context of invasive non-native species it refers to those that are a threat to an area but are not yet widely established. These are species that, if not caught early, could potentially cause significant damage to the ecosystem. 

The goal of the ‘alert’ designation is to facilitate early intervention and eradication efforts before the species becomes a widespread and costly problem. Check out this poster to see which are current UK alert species (especially note the waterborne ones!). By recording any sightings of these species as quickly as possibly you could be helping to prevent the establishment of a new invasive non-native species. 

Don’t fuel a crime wave

River Canal Rescue is advising boat owners to put a lock on their fuel caps after witnessing numerous cases of stolen fuel.

Managing director, Stephanie Horton, warns: “Fuel siphoning from tanks is sadly becoming a common issue, and it’s nationwide. We can’t tell if the thieves are getting to boats via the towpath or on the water, but to deter them, put a separate lock on your fuel cap.”

Perished fuel cap seals are another problem, as they allow water to enter the fuel tank and cause diesel bug.

Stephanie reminds: “People need to check and if necessary, change the seal on their fuel cap. A continuous cruiser, for example, may fill up every few weeks, so within a year, the seal will distort and begin to perish. It’s a simple thing to do, yet many people don’t even know they have a seal.”

Bradford joins the culture club

Thanks to the support of our amazing volunteers, we have been helping to host and support several Bradford City of Culture 2025 events. One of the highlight events is the ‘Bradford Progress’, a musical journey travelling across the District and joins the Leeds & Liverpool Canal on Saturday 17 May. 

In light of the exceptional circumstances with low water levels on the canal our team has worked hard to significantly reduce the lockage operations required, while ensuring that the performance can still be brought to the waterway. We hope that boaters in the area come along to see this spectacle as it travels from Bingley Five Rise Locks to Saltaire. 

How are you?

Are you a boat dweller in London? Whether you’re a continuous cruiser or living on a permanent mooring, your voice is essential!

RRR Consultancy Ltd is researching how air pollution, fuel use, and energy options affect boat dwellers across London. Your insights will help local authorities, waterways organisations, and policymakers create positive changes for a cleaner, healthier environment.

Why Participate?

• Share Your Experience: Tell us about your life on the water and any challenges you face with air quality and fuel choices.
• Confidential Participation: All responses are completely confidential.
• Make a Difference: Your input will help shape practical, sustainable solutions for London’s boating community

The survey runs until Friday 30 May 2025 and, if you needed another reason to take the survey, there’s a prize draw for those who take part! Follow this link to begin.