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Wolverhampton Lock Flight

Type: Navigation Restriction

Waterway(s): Old Main Line

From: 1 June 2026, 5pm

To: On-going

Region: West Midlands

Reason: Suspected Vandalism

Subject to review on: 5 June 2026

Location

Closest waterwayOld Main Line
Starts atLock 21, Wolverhampton
Ends atLock 1, Top Lock, Wolverhampton

Description

Original 1 June 2026, 4:19pm

The Wolverhampton Lock Flight is currently experiencing significant water loss due to vandalism and misuse, including gates being left open and paddles left raised.

To support recovery, passage will be restricted to 9am and 2pm daily. Outside of these hours, the flight will be locked to conserve water. Boaters are asked to plan journeys accordingly.

These measures are necessary due to critically low water levels, limited improvement despite continuous pumping at Bradley, and ongoing overnight losses. Restrictions are required to protect water resources and maintain navigation across the wider network. It will also allow water levels on the Rushall Canal to recover.

Our teams will continue to closely monitor the situation and we will provide an updates as the situation develops.

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