Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund the project has created a new channel to address a priority obstruction to fish passage, bank instability, an impoundment and siltation.
The now-obsolete lock was a complete barrier to fish passage and impounded water, which negatively impacted on the channel’s condition and jeopardised the integrity of the Navigation’s banks for several hundred meters upstream. A close-tonature channel has now been constructed adjacent to the historic waterway which will enable fish and other aquatic species to move more freely and improve flows.
To facilitate fish movement the bypass channel has been designed to provide the appropriate flow conditions by careful use of gradient, channel profile, armouring, planting and positioning of rocks and gravel.
To improve the in-channel conditions upstream of the lock, water velocity has been increased and the depth reduced which will ease the pressure on crumbling banks and keep the gravel bed clear of silt. These works will remedy many of the reasons for failure of this section of the Navigation under the Water Framework Directive.
