Land Slip - Easenhall Cutting, Brinklow, Oxford Canal

[RAB]

Was planning to go this way in late March. The stoppage notice sounds quite ominous, in terms of potential timescales for rectification.

"Due to heavy rainfall, a significant landslip on an 18m high cutting has completely blocked the canal and towpath. We're working with our contractors to develop a plan to start to clear the large trees and debris from the canal. Unfortunately these works are in an awkward location, meaning it could take longer to resolve. Taking into account the popularity of the North Oxford Canal, as recently noted by our lockage reports, our priority is to re-open navigation as soon as possible.

We'll aim to provide a further update on Friday 23rd February, once our contractors have assessed the situation."

Just wondered if anyone had any photos / updates and or guesstimates on corrective timescales. I know CRT will hopefully update on Friday but interested in members views. Especially given their statement "Taking into account the popularity of the North Oxford Canal, as recently noted by our lockage reports, our priority is to re-open navigation as soon as possible." ???

 

Edited February 9 by RAB

[Hudds Lad]

There was a vid posted by Narrowboat Spudley on YouTube where he walked down to the slip, looks like quite the job  

 

 

Found it...

 

 

 

Edited February 9 by Hudds Lad
add vid

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Technically tricky. Biggest problem is finding a contractor who knows what a land splip is, let alone how to fix one. 😀

[RAB]

From the video I can't see this re-opening for quite a while. A big big job.

[Graham and Jo]

I reckon we will be going to Brum via Hatton again for the challenge. Sulk. Cheers Graham

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, Graham and Jo said:

I reckon we will be going to Brum via Hatton again for the challenge. Sulk. Cheers Graham

You leaving early to do a practice run then.

[James Owen]

2 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

There was a vid posted by Narrowboat Spudley on YouTube where he walked down to the slip, looks like quite the job  

 

 

Found it...

 

 

 

It's a fair bit worse now too...

 

There's a further slip where the gabions are which has now blocked the towing path (lucky for the Spudley fellow he wasn't there) although the navigation at that point isn't affected.

 

In itself not the greatest issue but it does highlight the instability of the cutting and the resulting hazards the contractors will likely face while working.

 

I can see the bottom road getting a fair uplift in traffic for the foreseeable unless that's closed as well....

Edited February 9 by James Owen

[Jon57]

2 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

There was a vid posted by Narrowboat Spudley on YouTube where he walked down to the slip, looks like quite the job  

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hgdAuStJUi4XBPPr/

Found it...

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

There is now a Drone video on FB but that is not sharable 

[MtB]

Start watching the video at about 9 minutes in to skip the waffle and see the actual landslip.

[Suzi]

must admit when I came through late December it looked and felt very precarious (having cruised through for many years) due to heavy rain and that bit with all the stones behind wire mesh was clearly not able to hold back the bank as it was really bulging!! 

 

also just after bridge 34 there was a small landslip with a tree down and several large trees at the top of the 18m cutting had bare roots showing 😳...  I was glad to get through! 

 

glad everyone is ok and like someone said above not sure how "safe" any of it is with this "rain" We're getting.....🤔

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

I went north in December and grounded on the small offside slip by the bridge where he walked down to the canal, coming back in January it had moved a bit but I got through without touching keeping close to the towpath.

[Suzi]

31 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I went north in December and grounded on the small offside slip by the bridge where he walked down to the canal, coming back in January it had moved a bit but I got through without touching keeping close to the towpath.

glad you got through ok 🙏 

I was gonna mooch up that way but I'm rethinking now 😁.....might mooch up the Leicester and steer clear of the beautiful but huge trees near Norton jnctn!!

[Mike Tee]

We were hoping to go that way early April - if it’s not open it will mean going through Leicester up the Soar and then Trent & Mersey to Fazeley. Will take about the same time (Debdale to Fazeley) but not looking forward to the Soar in April!

[Suzi]

2 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

We were hoping to go that way early April - if it’s not open it will mean going through Leicester up the Soar and then Trent & Mersey to Fazeley. Will take about the same time (Debdale to Fazeley) but not looking forward to the Soar in April!

oh lordy I did the soar at totally the wrong time of year myself about 6 years ago (blimey where did that time go 🙃🤔) 

 

in and out of flood all the way up and had to put planks down side of boat at syston to be sure.....yoghurt pot was bobbing around the picnic tables outside the pub!! 

 

stunning beautiful river but Sheesh you can literally watch the level rising!!! I find that although the Trent is much bigger, she feels easier.....but I started in the Trent so maybe that's why 😁😁

 

but yeah rivers are proper wild!!.....mind you all this rain is making any high cuttings a bit precarious on canals too.......

 

I love the view as you get to where the soar meets the Trent and it's just this huge mass of beautiful river 🤩.... not like Ribble wide clearly 😳😂

 

I'm guessing/hoping contractors will know what to do about the length of the easenhall cutting.......🤔.....open up the old Oxford route???

[Ronaldo47]

The clay in my part of Essex gradually decomposes and becomes weaker when exposed to the atmosphere. It was found that railway cuttings started to fail by slipping about a century after their construction. The problem was solved by constructing dutch drains down the sides of the cuttings to lower the water table, combined with toe weighting.  

[Slim]

44 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

combined with toe weighting.  

With or without toenails.?

[MtB]

47 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

combined with toe weighting.  

 

Yeah c'mon, you made that up didn't you!!! 

 

 

[Ronaldo47]

"Toe weighting" is a term of the art in Civil Engineering to refer to the weighty material put at the foot (specifically, the toe as it is right at the very end) of an unstable slope with a view to prevent it slipping any further.  This is from a book on natural disasters.  It is an extract from a passage that describes the geology of Folkestone Warren and the steps that have been taken to prevent damage to the railway line that runs across it.

Edited February 10 by Ronaldo47
typo

[jonesthenuke]

No room for toe weighting in that cutting. The toe weights at Folkestone warren extend to 50m or more in width. Drains would help but I would think difficult to install. 

[MtB]

What are the legal dimensions here? Who owns the land and the fence at the top, some of which which presumably disappeared down into the cutting? I don't suppose they are best pleased. 

 

Do they have any claim against CRT for loss of their land each time they lose a bit? Or is it an 'act of God'? Or something else?

 

Just curious really as I've heard a few times that a founding principle in law is if a land owner excavates his land (in his garden for example), he is responsible for providing support to a neighbour's higher land that might be undermined by his digging activities. I'm wondering if the same applies to landslips. 

 

 

 

 

[David Mack]

I seem to recall reading that in the past BW/CRT have needed to buy additional land beyond cutting / embankment slopes in order to reduce the earthworks gradient where there have been failures. That will probably be the cheapest solution if its just farmland, but if there are houses or other buildings involved then more expensive engineering solutions may be needed to keep within the original land boundary.

Given current funding constraints the most economical solution may just be to narrow the channel!

[BEngo]

2 hours ago, jonesthenuke said:

No room for toe weighting in that cutting. The toe weights at Folkestone warren extend to 50m or more in width. Drains would help but I would think difficult to install. 

I do not know abour the offside, but the towpath certainly has a drain at the toe of the slope, with cross pipes under the towpath to take the drained water into the canal..  Like many other BW/CRT assets the drain  has has little or no proper maintenance for years and as a consequence it is pretty ineffective.

 

N

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

What are the legal dimensions here? Who owns the land and the fence at the top, some of which which presumably disappeared down into the cutting? I don't suppose they are best pleased. 

 

Do they have any claim against CRT for loss of their land each time they lose a bit? Or is it an 'act of God'? Or something else?

 

Just curious really as I've heard a few times that a founding principle in law is if a land owner excavates his land (in his garden for example), he is responsible for providing support to a neighbour's higher land that might be undermined by his digging activities. I'm wondering if the same applies to landslips. 

 

 

 

 

What about where the canal has eroded the farm land away. Like what has happened on the Northern Oxford Canal just north of Braunston. Surely the farmer should be calling for reinstatement of his land

[Martin Nicholas]

Was this one of the Oxford Canal improvements of the 1800's? Maybe the old line is still there.