Winter works, operational changes and significant budget increases point towards a positive year for the Scottish canals, writes Cicely Oliver Feeling buoyant
ON THE Caledonian Canal, phase two of the major task of modernising and upgrading the lock flight at Fort Augustus approaches completion, with the replacement of the lock gates.
Gates in lock 1 were replaced ‘in the wet’, that is without draining the lock, instead relying on divers. Scottish Canals are aiming to open the flight by early April after final work on the cill.
Another major project on the Caledonian, that of stabilising the canal embankment at Kytra (south of Fort Augustus) is also nearly finished, with just towpath upgrades to do.
These works see two years of a three-year programme complete – an investment of more than £6 million, supporting the Highland economy and setting the canal right for the next 50 years. 2020-21 will see the final tranche of work and the upgrading of the lock operating systems.
Diving surveys have taken place on the Crinan Canal, focusing on the locks on the eastern side from Ardrishaig. This surveying work is in advance of planned lock gate replacement next winter and then a thorough survey of the remainder of the canal to fully understand what’s required. This work represents £4 million worth of investment in the Crinan.
On the Lowland Forth & Clyde and Union canals, a full review of lock gates is planned. Work will then be prioritised and carried out as funding becomes available.
Over the winter Scottish Canals operatives removed around 160 tonnes of dredgings from the mouth of the Almond feeder, an offshoot of the Union canal, supplying the canal with water from Cobbinshaw Reservoir.
Silt clearance and general maintenance has been carried out on the Brighton’s Burn Aqueduct, also on the Union. A further 1500 tonnes were dredged from Auchinstarry, on the Forth & Clyde. The in-house team worked with a long-reach excavator purchased the previous year.
The Falkirk Wheel, popular visitor attraction and boat lift, has had its annual MoT and is ready for the season ahead.
At Wilcoxholm embankment on the Union, major works of £475,000 sheet piling installation continues with stop planks installed between bridges 42 and 43, and a towpath diversion in place. This project, to reduce significant leakage from the embankment, is due for completion in April.
At the western end of the Forth & Clyde canal, Bowling Sea Lock is temporarily closed to boat traffic after the failure of part of the lock operating system. Scottish Canals have identified a short-term fix allowing the lock gates to be manually operated for the start of the season, while a new part is on order to restore the automated lock gate opening.
Minor works include cleaning and repair of pontoons along the canals, revised day-to-day operations and providing as good a service as possible to the boating customers.
Operational changes
Scottish Canals carried out a public consultation to seek the views of boating customers on the Forth & Clyde and Union canals between October last year and January. Scottish Canals also engaged with RYA Scotland, British Marine and marinas around the country, and hosted a series of information evenings during the consultation period.
The navigation authority wants to encourage on-the-water activity to create the vibrant canal network that will support wider regeneration and activity, and generate income. It costs around £7.1 million per year to maintain and operate the canals, and income generated from boating is some £1.3 million.
The consultation questions covered user and remote operations, diesel and pump out, weed control, dredging, channel clearance, canal opening times and scheduling, online booking and customer communications.
Scottish Canals outlined their proposals aimed at directing resources to the areas of biggest need and to the activities most wanted by customers. Of the 125 responses, 35% were from leisure boaters, 34% from other boaters, 21% from residential boaters and 10% from transit customers.
Operational changes reflecting Scottish Canals’ proposals and customer feedback will take effect from April 1. It’s hoped that the changes will improve boaters’ experience on the water, while reducing operational costs and allowing further investment in the canal system to ensure its future.
Currently bridges and locks on the Lowland canals are not boater-operated and feedback from the consultation indicated a desire for increased access through the Glasgow branch of the Forth & Clyde Canal, and Leamington
Lift Bridge, at the terminus of the Union Canal in Edinburgh. The proposal to implement user and remote operations – freeing up staff and giving boaters greater freedom to move along the canals at their own pace – saw 79% of respondents either ‘happy’ or ‘very happy’ with these proposals.
User operation will be rolled out during 2020-21, with phase one covering bridges on the Glasgow branch and Leamington Lift Bridge. Further user operation will be dependent on budget and Scottish Canals will publish a proposal in the autumn that will include details of training and signage requirements, buddy system options and hours of operation.
Scottish Canals is piloting extended summer-season hours between Hillhead (on the Forth & Clyde at Kirkintilloch) and Twechar (just east of Kirkintilloch) where there are road bridges requiring operation by Scottish Canals.
The cost to boaters will be £25 for one-way travel and £50 for a return journey, which will enable staff to work until 9pm during the summer. This service will be available from May 1 to September 30. In effect, this will, albeit at a cost to the boater, open up the long top pound of the canal between Maryhill Locks in Glasgow and Wyndford Lock (around three miles east of Auchinstarry) to evening boating and extend the possible daily distance for transiting boaters.
In direct response to customer feedback, diesel and pump-out services at Southbank Marina in Kirkintilloch will be offered in the mornings every Tuesday and Saturday, providing more flexibility for working boaters.
Also, from the start of the season, Scottish Canals will publish its weedcutting programme and dredging plans on a monthly basis. Customers will be encouraged to report weed hotspots and depth issues via a dedicated ‘report an issue’ email. A significant number of respondents (44%) reported obstacles and obstructions impeding canal travel during the previous year.
Scottish Canals are exploring alternative online options to the current boat movement telephone booking system and will update boaters at the user forums this month (April). Customer communications will continue to be delivered via email, newsletter and the website, with a focus on improving communication about stoppages, events and public meetings. More detail about the consultation can be read online at www.scottishcanals.co.uk/ lowland-operations-consultation-2019/
Budget increase
Scottish Government has announced a significant grant of £23.2 million for Scottish Canals in its budget for the forthcoming year.
This represents an increase of 50% from the 2018-19 figure of £11.6 million.
The parliamentary papers state that “in 2020-21 we will support the operation of Scotland’s canals and the benefits that canals bring to Scotland”.
Responsibility for Scotland’s canals is devolved to Scottish ministers and the Scottish Government provides funding to Scottish Canals to enable the organisation to perform its statutory duties (to maintain Scotland’s canal network and to act as navigation authority) and progress new canalrelated activities.
Scottish Canals also generates income from commercial activities.
Scottish Canals’ funding is split into a resource budget of £11 million (an increase of £2.5 million from last year), and a capital budget of £12.2 million (an increase of £5.7 million over the previous year).
All supporters of Scotland’s canals will welcome Scottish Government’s increased commitment to the canals, however there is concern about the resource budget that pays for maintenance and day-to-day operations.
An extract from Parliament’s budget research paper states that the resource budget “covers operational expenditure by Scottish Canals and non-cash budget cover for depreciation charges,” which may translate into no net increase.
However, the same paper notes for the capital budget state that it “supports capital expenditure by Scottish Canals” and the additional funding “reflects increased maintenance and capital investment requirements”.
Large-scale projects undertaken over previous years include some £3 million investment in replacement lock gates on the Highland canals, £1.1 million on the Union Canal at Linlithgow, and £820,000 spent on upgrading the Falkirk Wheel. Scottish Canals intends to publish income and expenditure levels in a Boaters’ Report on its website, together with a new three-year Corporate Plan due to be published shortly.