Grand re-opening of Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal and towpath will be officially re-opened on Wednesday 19 March following structural repairs to a breached embankment, caused by severe weather during the winter of 2012.
Members of the Canal’s Joint Advisory Committee, Devon County and Mid Devon District Councillors, members of Halberton parish council, Halberton residents, members of the Grand Western canal Friends Groups and staff and contractors involved in the works will be gathering at Swing Bridge, Halberton where the canal will be officially re-opened by Chairman of Devon County Council, Councillor Bernard Hughes.
Chairman of Halberton Parish Council, Councillor Ken Browse will be bringing his narrowboat along to be the first boat travelling across the repaired embankment for this ‘maiden voyage’.
The Canal suffered a serious breach of its northern bank near Swing Bridge at Halberton in November 2012, after water spilled over the top of the embankment during torrential downpours and flooding.
It is estimated that more than 16 million litres of water (the equivalent of more than 100,000 bathtubs or 6.5 Olympic swimming pools) flowed through the 23-metre wide breach onto neighbouring farmland. Emergency services spent days pumping water away from the area to make the area safe.
Following the incident Devon County Council and its partners embarked on a major restoration plan to reinstate the failed section of the canal and to introduce measures to reduce the likelihood of a similar occurrence.
As well as repairing the breach, further works are being made to ensure the long term future of the whole canal. This has included inspections of all infrastructure along the canal, the installation of a water level monitoring and alarm system, as well as additional and improved stop boards.
A detailed hydrological survey of the canal and the surrounding catchments has been undertaken and this is informing the selection of new sluices and weirs that will be constructed in the next phase to enable better management of water levels during severe weather.
The embankment has been rebuilt within its existing footprint, but is slightly higher in order to provide protection against future overtopping at this location.
The canal has been lined over the length of the embankment with an impervious material. This material is covered and hidden and the repairs will eventually blend in with the existing canal.
Most of the material that was washed out during the breach has been strengthened and re-used in order to limit the amount of material that needed to be brought to site by road.
The speed of water flowing through the canal and discharging at the breach also caused significant erosion of the canal bed either side of the fault. This erosion has also been repaired.
Since the breach, half a mile of canal channel had to be closed between Greenway Bridge and Rock Bridge, with a half-mile long towpath diversion in place between Swing Bridge and Watton Bridge.
Chairman of Devon County Council, Councillor Bernard Hughes OBE said; “As a life long member of the Inland Waterways Association and a long term member of the Waterway Recovery Group, the events surrounding the Canal during recent times have certainly struck a chord with me.
"The Grand Western Canal is a treasured part of Devon’s natural heritage and an important asset to the region. With several thousands of visitors every year, it’s plays an important economic role as well. My thanks go to the hard work of all the partners, the friends of the canal, the officers and members who all did so much during the severe weather which damaged this stretch of the canal and who have helped during its reconstruction, as well of course to South West Highways who carried out the work. I am delighted to see this part re-open and wish everyone all the very best for the forthcoming waterways festival and other events this year.
“Congratulations must go to Devon County Council for their foresight in funding the reinstatement of the grand Western Canal. Other breaches have occurred in other parts of the Canal network and the difficult funding of repairs has meant long delays in reinstatement. Devon wasted no time at all, made a quick decision, which has given the Grand Western Canal a renewed lease of life for a few more hundred years. My thanks to everyone involved in this achievement."
Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Communities, said: “This has been a major piece of restoration and is testament to all involved that it’s been completed as scheduled. It also finishes ahead of some important events in the canal’s calendar, namely the Grand Western 200 on the following Saturday and the IWA National Trailboat Festival in May. The canal is an important resource in Devon and one of our main tourist attractions and so I am very pleased to see the work come to an end.”
Councillor Des Hannon, County Councillor for Tiverton East, said; “I won’t quickly forget the roar of water and the rumble in the ground when the embankment breached. It was a hugely dramatic event. Getting our canal back in full operation in time for a momentous 200th birthday at the end of May is a magnificent achievement. Thanks are due to everyone involved – not least Devon County Council for the investment.”
The scheme, was carried out by contractor South West Highways Ltd and has finished in time for the canal’s 200th anniversary.
Ben Pyle, Managing Director for South West Highways, said: “We are very proud of the part our people played both in the emergency response to the breach last year and the splendid restoration of this great local asset. The workforce were from Devon, which is fitting and represents the way our company operates. We won the job in stiff competition but were still able to contribute very positively throughout.”
The Canal’s 200th anniversary will be celebrated with the Canal hosting the IWA National Trailboat Festival over the bank holiday weekend from Saturday 24 to Monday 26 May 2014.
There will be a big public festival day held at the Mid Devon Showground on Saturday 24 May 2014, with smaller events happening at locations along the Canal over the remainder of the weekend, including an illuminated night time parade in Tiverton and a fun day in Sampford Peverell.
The Grand Western 200 festival takes place at the Mid Devon Showgound near Halberton on Saturday 24th May, 10.30am to 5pm. There will be an excellent range of musicians, performers, exhibitors and caterers; around 40 colourful boats moored along the canal bank beside the festival site and horse-drawn barge trips operating from close by. Entry will be £5 for adults and £1 for children (but children can enter for free for the first hour).
Other smaller events will be happening elsewhere along the canal on the Sunday and Monday – more details here.
There will also be a celebration of the bicentenary 200 years to the day since the first cargo-laden boat travelled the length of the canal. This will be taking place on (bank holiday) Monday 25 August in the Canal Basin in Tiverton. This event will also celebrate 40 years of the much-loved horsedrawn barge operating on the Canal.
