Poolstock Lock repair delayed

What at first appeared to be a straightforward problem at Lock 1 on the Leigh Branch of Leeds and Liverpool Canal has turned into a lengthy delay for boaters.

A week ago CRT staff closed the top lock of the two locks at Poolstock in Wigan, as the ground paddle culvert was leaking badly, affecting water levels on the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal across nearby Wigan Junction.

For some reason CRT did not have the appropriate stop planks available and had to wait for more to be delivered. In the meantime CRT staff worked boats through the lock between 10 and 11 am over several days.

The new stop planks duly arrived and were installed on Friday and it was expected that the repairs would be carried out over the weekend.

However a further update issued today says that even with the stop planks in place they were unable to effect a water-tight seal to enable the work to be carried out. A temporary dam has now been ordered and will be installed in the next few days.

At this stage CRT are expecting the works will be completed on Friday and the lock will reopen on Saturday 1st August. An update should be issued tomorrow (28th July).

Update Tuesday 28th July:
The temporary dam will be installed on Thursday and will require a day to settle before work on the paddle sluice can start. Repair work will be carried out on Friday.

CRT anticipates that the canal will re-open on Saturday 1st August. A further update will be issued on Friday 31st July.

Update Friday 31st July:
Contractors will be removing the temporary dams tomorrow morning and CRT anticipates that the navigation will re-open around midday on Saturday 1st August.


Poolstop top lock, Leigh Branch of Leeds and Liverpool Canal