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Marple Lock 11 update


Cheshire cat

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I popped along to the Marple flight today. It was pretty damp. No shortage of water. The good news is work has started on lock 11. The towpath has been sealed off and the compound prepared for portacabins and machinery. On the security fencing is a notice informing everyone that permission has been granted for the towpath to be closed for approximately 25 weeks. 

 

So target opening date is Good Friday 2019 

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I'm not sure whether or not that is a religious quip Mac. It was only my guesstimate but Good Friday feels about right. It is Stockport MBC that has granted the closure of the towpath for the duration of the works. Completely off topic but the diversion takes you past the Marple war memorial. I was saddened but pleased to see that it has been updated to include a recent casualty who lost their life in Afghanistan. 

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Slightly off topic but lock 11 was featured in the BBC1 ambulance documentary last week, a crew had to attend to a boat there! Was during the summer heatwave so not sure why the boat was there as the flight was already closed afaik 

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14 hours ago, Cheshire cat said:

Sadly, I think Nick's curiosity is unlikely to be satisfied. Unlike the rebuild of lock 15? you can't get near. Security fencing ranges from the top of lock 10 to the bottom of lock 12.

Can you not see from the park next to those locks? 

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1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

Can you not see from the park next to those locks? 

When I looked at the works plan the other day, I think a large area of the park adjacent  is to be used for the site huts etc, so , probably can't see much .

 

On 08/11/2018 at 10:01, nicknorman said:

Anyway, it would be interesting to see how many cubic metres of expanding foam they extract from behind the walls. That’s the expanding foam they prefer to call “grout” that couldn’t possibly have caused the problems  - allegedly!

Dare I publish a photo taken in  the winter  of 16/17 of the work underway to narrow  lock 11?

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Just to diversify a little. Yesterday and again today, planned stoppages have been cancelled.

 

Even before this, having looked at the Stoppage programme, it seems there were far fewer stoppages than in rencent years.

 

Are our friends in CRT struggling to make ends meet? Or are they started to ruin of the network?

 

 

Edited by Nightwatch
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5 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Just to diversify a little. Yesterday and again today, planned stoppages have been cancelled.

 

Even before this, having looked at the Stoppage programme, it seems there were far fewer stoppages than in rencent years.

 

Are our friends in CRT struggling to make ends meet? Or are they started to ruin of the network?

 

 

Surely less winter work is the inevitable result of really getting on top of the maintenance? ;)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 07/11/2018 at 21:47, Cheshire cat said:

I popped along to the Marple flight today. It was pretty damp. No shortage of water. The good news is work has started on lock 11. The towpath has been sealed off and the compound prepared for portacabins and machinery. On the security fencing is a notice informing everyone that permission has been granted for the towpath to be closed for approximately 25 weeks. 

 

So target opening date is Good Friday 2019 

It had better not be... the "official stance" is/was to open it by  15th March.... which really does need to happen as we had to cancel 2 trips this month due to it - which we've carried forward to April... 

 

I'll put on my wellies and go give them a hand!

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  • 2 months later...

I made anothor visit today for Quaysider's benefit. It's difficult to see what is going on because they have put sight screens up and its not possible to get anywhere near the work. 

Nevertheless, you can see that the bottom gates are on and there is plenty of activity on site. Plenty of workers in high vis.

 

You can see from the site compound that they have thrown everything at it presumably as a result of learning lessons from the rebuild further up the flight.

 

DSC00784.JPG

DSC00785.JPG

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Peak Forest Canal
Starts At: Lock 1
Ends At: Lock 16

Monday 23 July 2018 17:00 until Friday 24 May 2019 16:00

Type: Navigation Closure
Reason: Structure failure

Update on 06/02/2019:

Unfortunately, whilst the works at Marple Lock 11 have been progressing steadily throughout the winter so far, they are a few weeks behind our original intended schedule. 

It is now planned to re-open the canal to boats by close of play on Friday 24th May 2019. Delays have been encountered in the piling phase of the works, with the augering of the ground and reinforced concrete pile installation behind the existing lock walls proving slower than expected, as well as having to address some design changes due to site constraints. However, the piling is now complete, ensuring the ground is stable so that the failed lock walls can be carefully dismantled. 

Given the progression of the works to date, at this stage we now have more certainty regarding the expected duration of the next phase; take-down of both lock walls, followed by their re-building back to the correct alignment. This is complex and time consuming, as the walls are being re-constructed like-for-like, in order to comply with heritage requirements.  Lock 11 is a Grade II Listed structure.

We apologise for this ongoing closure, and are pushing forward to complete the re-construction of the lock as soon as possible.

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Phew, glad I got through there last summer at the short post-repair reopening! Twas tight though, so it seemed at the time that being poised for the opportunity was a good move and I suspected few would follow.  Anyone else make it in the brief window?

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The contractors need a swift kick up the Harris - This has just messed up 3 trips (with much needed income) and thats just "us"...  never mind all the other boats  - I watched 3 men come to "paint a mooring ring" the other week in Foulridge ffs...  

 

We're fuming and really disgruntled at having to try and make an 8-10 day detour to get back to where we need to be by the 12th April AND having to move things 2 weeks earlier travelling long days in March.... grrrrr.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Quaysider said:

The contractors need a swift kick up the Harris - This has just messed up 3 trips (with much needed income) and thats just "us"...  never mind all the other boats  - I watched 3 men come to "paint a mooring ring" the other week in Foulridge ffs...  

 

We're fuming and really disgruntled at having to try and make an 8-10 day detour to get back to where we need to be by the 12th April AND having to move things 2 weeks earlier travelling long days in March.... grrrrr.

 

 

Have you thought of sending CRT your itinerary so that they can plan all works and maintenance in to fit in with your schedule? The complication might come when doing so interferes with someone else's schedule,  but maybe cross that bridge when you come to it, eh? If it's any help, I'll fit my boating in around whatever's open at the time so as not to be a nuisance to you. ;)

 

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38 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Have you thought of sending CRT your itinerary so that they can plan all works and maintenance in to fit in with your schedule? The complication might come when doing so interferes with someone else's schedule,  but maybe cross that bridge when you come to it, eh? If it's any help, I'll fit my boating in around whatever's open at the time so as not to be a nuisance to you. ;)

 

In case you don't know, Quaysider runs a hotel boat. It's early days for his business and like most businesses, the early days aren't easy. Just imagine, having a couple of bookings that might be the difference between making a small profit that year, or a loss. You take the bookings in good faith, based on information given to you by the navigation authority. Then, the authority puts everything back, destroying your plans. There's the possibility that the bookings might be lost, or many days extra spent navigating, new plans made, maybe irate customers. How would you like it? I think your sarcasm is well out of order.  

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32 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

In case you don't know, Quaysider runs a hotel boat. It's early days for his business and like most businesses, the early days aren't easy. Just imagine, having a couple of bookings that might be the difference between making a small profit that year, or a loss. You take the bookings in good faith, based on information given to you by the navigation authority. Then, the authority puts everything back, destroying your plans. There's the possibility that the bookings might be lost, or many days extra spent navigating, new plans made, maybe irate customers. How would you like it? I think your sarcasm is well out of order.  

 

Running a business involves planning for the worst and hoping for better. 

 

There is such a thing as 'interruption of busines' insurance.

 

Having said that, I don't know enough about Quaysider's business to comment further. I do know about my own business, which will be 30 years old come this July.

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38 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

In case you don't know, Quaysider runs a hotel boat. It's early days for his business and like most businesses, the early days aren't easy. Just imagine, having a couple of bookings that might be the difference between making a small profit that year, or a loss. You take the bookings in good faith, based on information given to you by the navigation authority. Then, the authority puts everything back, destroying your plans. There's the possibility that the bookings might be lost, or many days extra spent navigating, new plans made, maybe irate customers. How would you like it? I think your sarcasm is well out of order.  

The trouble with posting in print is no-one can see the twinkle in your eye! I did try to make the tongue in cheek apparent by the addition of a wink, but sometimes it doesn't work.  I sympathise with anyone making travel plans on the canal only to have them thwarted, indeed I've been there a fair bit around the network, but at Marple in particular last year.  Its frustrating - and my itineraries are purely arbitrary.  

 

That said, we all know these things happen (whether well managed or not) so we can have a chunter, of course, but we also have to make allowances. Folk travelling to join a canal boat can equally travel to a different start finish point. I think Quaysider probably knows all that better than most so, whilst I know it's very fashionable at the moment, there's no real need to be indignant on his behalf. If it helps, I'm happy for him to laugh at my tease as intended or tell me to get back in my box if I've missed the mark. Either way, it wasn't a serious dig. :)

 

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