Gloucester Lock

Gloucester Lock is now fully operational and will be open from 7am tomorrow (3rd May)

Thanks again to everyone affected by the closure for your patience.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Unfortunately, while work has almost been completed, we have not been able to open Gloucester Lock at 8am today.

Divers were working until late last night and returned again this morning to remove a high level of silt that is currently sitting against the safety gates.

The lock is operational and the work to remove the silt is anticipated to take some hours.

We anticipate the work to be completed before the end of today.

Please call the office for the most up to date information on 01452 318012

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Work has progressed well on the repair to the cill and the remaining silt, which is impacting on the gate operation, will be removed.

Rising river levels means that navigation through the lock will need to be restricted, for safety of users and we have to allow time for the water to recede. We will take this opportunity to remove all machinery and other equipment from the site including the steel dam.

To allow for this the lock will be reopened at 8am on Thursday 2 May.

Once again we appreciate that this has been a frustrating time for our customers and we are very grateful everyone’s patience, especially in these final days.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Work has continued to progress well at the Lock and we are now confident that the repair to the bottom end gate cill will soon be completed successfully.

In addition to completing the cill repair, we are working to remove a huge quantity of silt which accumulated in the gate recesses as we were taking out the water.

Removing this silt is now expected to take until close of play on April 30th, when we anticipate reopening the Lock for navigation.

Once again we appreciate that this has been a frustrating time for our customers and we very much appreciate everyone’s patience.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Further to our update earlier this week we can confirm that work has progressed on schedule to meet the target for opening on 28 April

The team will be working over the weekend to remove 40 tonnes of silt from the lock chamber to facilitate the repair of the damaged lock cill.

Engineers will finalise the design for the repair early next week with the repair work expected to begin mid week.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update 17/04/2019

 Further to our update earlier this week, we can now confirm we expect Gloucester Lock to re-open on 28th April.

The extent of the leak was much greater than originally anticipated when first discovered in mid-January.  Due to the challenges we have faced in draining the lock, the requirement for a bespoke steel coffer dam on the river side of the lock, which is now in place, and the difficulties we have faced with the accumulated silt, work has taken much longer and is proving more costly than could have been foreseen.  The delays to the repairs have been compounded by the regular spring tides on the river which has meant work has had to be suspended on occasions for safety reasons.

We share the disappointment of the boating community that the Lock will not be open before Easter and our sincere apologies and thanks go to everyone for their patience.

For more details please see our recent press release here - https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/media-centre

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

 https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices 

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update 15/04/19

 There has been a lot of activity from the team over the last week, and since our last update. 

We have finished installing the dam, successfully completed the fish rescue and are now working on getting the lock dry enough to work on the lock cill.

 Unfortunately there is a much higher level of silt in the lock, which is proving difficult to work in and we now need to work on removing the silt before we can fully insect and repair the cill. 

Because of these unexpected issues work on repairing the cill have not progressed as quickly as we had originally planned however the team is continuing to work hard to get the lock open as soon as possible. 

We appreciate that the closure of the Lock remains inconvenient for all of our customers and thank everyone for their patience. 

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

 https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices 

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

 Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update 08/04/2019

Despite some unexpected issues with some fixings over the weekend, the site team have progressed well. The stop plank installation and fish rescue are still on track for the end of this week.

We appreciate that the closure of the Lock remains inconvenient for all of our customers and thank everyone for their patience. Please be aware that some changes to the timings may be needed while working in these difficult conditions. 

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update 02/04/2019

We’re pleased to confirm that the steelwork for the dam has been arriving on site this morning and the dive team will begin installing tomorrow (Wednesday 3rd April), as planned.

The site team will continue work through the weekend to complete the dam, which we expect to be ready to test on 10th April. A fish rescue is planned on the 11th April and on the 12th we intend to inspect the leaking cill and plan the repair. We should then be able to confirm a target date for completion. Repairs to the damaged cill are programmed to begin over the weekend of 13th & 14th April.

Please rest assured that we are doing everything we can to complete these repairs as swiftly as possible and to remain on programme. We understand that the closure of the Lock remains extremely inconvenient for our customers and really appreciate everyone’s patience. Please do bear in mind though, that some change to the timings is possible while we’re working in these difficult conditions. 

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or

Customer Service Desk on 03030 404040

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update - 26/03/2019

Poor working conditions in the River (zero visibility) have led to problems obtaining accurate survey dimensions and unfortunately delayed design & installation of the dam. However, fabrication of the stop-plank channels is in hand and we now expect divers to commence installation on 3rd April.

 Although we have suffered a delay instigating manufacture, lead time has proved shorter than expected and we have reviewed our working patterns to limit impact on the programme. Once the water is out, we will be able to confirm timescale to completion, based on repairs required

We appreciate that this is a frustrating time for people needing to use the lock and very much appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to complete the repairs.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or

Customer Service Desk on 03030 404040

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update - 15/03/2019

Divers have been working in difficult circumstances to clear the silt and obstructions around the lower lock gates. This work will continue next week. At the same time the detailed survey has commenced.

The high tides expected on the River Severn next week will potentially delay this work due to safety concerns.

We expect to begin installation of the dams, mentioned in our previous update, on the w/c 25 March.

We appreciate that this is a frustrating time for people needing to use the lock and very much appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to complete the repairs.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or

Customer Service Desk on 03030 404040

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update - 08/03/2019

Following difficulty encountered in achieving a safe environment for us to be able to repair the lock, we have now have a solution to making the lock water-tight. 

On Tuesday next week (12/03/2019) divers will be used to remove existing obstructions and silt from around the lock gates. This will allow us to complete a detailed underwater survey which in turn will enable our engineers to design a dam that can be installed below the lock. We expect this clearance and design work to enable us to begin installation of the dams on the w/c 25 March. From this point we will be in a position to assess the length of time the repairs will take.

 We appreciate that this is a frustrating time for all users of the Canal and River and very much appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to effect a repair.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or

Customer Service Desk on 03030 404040

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update - 01/03/2019

Despite success in removing water from the lock by using high capacity pumps, we are currently unable to make the lock watertight (water is leaking in from both the canal and river). This means we can’t create a safe working area for our teams to carry out the required repairs.

We are now exploring alternatives with a specialist diving team and hopeful of developing a solution which will avoid the need for large dams and the time and financial cost these would incur.

We appreciate that this is a frustrating time for anyone wishing to move vessels between the Severn and Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, and very much appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to find an answer.

Should you require any further information about this or any other matter on the Wales and South West Region please see -

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

or contact -

Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or

Customer Service Desk on 03030 404040

Or you can e-mail - [email protected]

In the case of an emergency please ring

Freephone Canals on 0800 4799947

Update -

The new high capacity pumps have now been installed at the lock and successfully tested.

The diving team have been able to start work on repairing the leaks in the cill preparatory to dewatering the lock, however the high tides expected on the River Severn this week will delay this work due to safety concerns and the risk to the work boats on site.

We will report any further progress as it occurs, but our timeline for completion is still uncertain.

For further information or advice, please contact the Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in this matter.

Update -

Regrettably de-watering Gloucester Lock has continued to prove challenging this week due to the amount of water flowing through the leaks.

Different pumps have been ordered to counteract this issue and we will be ready to de-water the lock next Wednesday 13th February. Meanwhile we are continuing to finalise our preparations so that when the equipment arrives we can start work immediately.  

We will report next week on any further progress, but out timeline for completion is still uncertain and still possibly reaching beyond 18th February.

For further information or advice, please contact the Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in this matter.

Update -

Despite our best efforts this week, we have been unable to dewater Gloucester Lock due to the high rate of inflow of water from both the top end (top gate/paddles) and the bottom end of the safety gate.

So next week we are going to improve the water tightness at both ends with the intent to facilitate dewatering the lock and effecting repairs to the cills. We expect to be able to start this by 11th February. Regrettably this may mean the stoppage extending beyond w/c 18th February.

We will keep you informed of any updates as they occur. Please take this closure into account when planning your journey.

For further information or advice, please contact the Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in this matter.

Update - The work to address the problem at Gloucester Lock is due to commence on 28th January when it will be dewatered and the extent of the remedial work required will be established.

To facilitate this emergency work we have diverted resources from the planned work at Holt Lock which will now be deferred to a later date.

It is anticipated that the work at Gloucester Lock will be completed by 15th February, however, this timeline does depend on what our Direct Services Team find on the 28th January.

We will keep you informed of any updates as they occur. Please take this closure into account when planning your journey.

For further information or advice, please contact the Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in this matter.

Please be advised that Gloucester Lock is currently closed until further notice for customer safety. A severe leak under the lock has made control over the water levels in the lock impossible, putting an excessive load on the top gates and making passage unsafe.

We will keep you informed of any updates as they occur. Please take this closure into account when planning your journey.

For further information or advice, please contact the Gloucester Dock Office on 01452 318012 or at [email protected].

Thank you.