Erewash work party report They don’t have a canal to restore, but ECPDA’s work party have been helping maintain the Erewash - and are looking forward to supporting the Cromford bracket and spear rod lower end were also fitted and the lock was back in operation. Despite not having a canal to restore the We have yet to return to see if we can clear Erewash Canal Preservation & Development the blocked chamber as we were then reAssociation work party has never been idle. quested to investigate excessive leakage at Previously concentrating mainly on the Lang- Long Eaton Lock offside ground paddle. This ley Mill end of the canal we have since the required a trip to the CRT depot at Pringle first lockdown extended our scope to encom- Lane, Swarkestone to pick up a couple of old pass the whole of the Erewash Canal. This coplastic paddles one of which we were able has come about firstly because Oli Lockett, to reduce in size in our own workshop to suit our contact at the Canal & River Trust, has the Erewash requirements to replace the been trying to arrange for us to assist with existing worn out wooden one. some basic maintenance and improvement Getting Pentland to the various work works and perhaps more importantly besites has been made possible by some of our cause we have our own maintenance boat. group turning out to move it before or after Our boat, Pentland, was acquired from the work party. We have picked up heaps of CRT about three years ago with the objective magnet fishing debris along with a couple of of assisting with off-side vegetation control. shopping trolleys and several small trees However following regional reorganisation we which had been blown down in the recent were informed that this work would remain gales that partly blocked the towing path or in the hands of CRT contractors so Oli sent canal have been sawn up and removed. Norman Cornwell, our Chairman, a list of 83 Given that the majority of work party outstanding maintenance issues on the members are well into their 70’s work parties Erewash for us to help reduce on our regular have been suspended for the duration of the Friday work parties. This came to the atten- second lockdown but we will be back keeption of Paul Webster, Customer Operations ing the Erewash Canal open when it is Team Leader at Swarkestone. Paul had an deemed safe. In the New Year we also additional problem at Shipley Lock where the expect to become involved in assisting our offside ground paddle chamber was blocked neighbours, the Friends of the Cromford and a boat was required, which he did not Canal, in extending the navigation northhave in the area, to assist with its clearance. wards from Langley Mill [See restoration Meanwhile the towing path side ground feature in Navvies 303] so there is plenty to paddle had come adrift from the spear rod. keep us going for some time yet. Shipley has top gate paddles but these Dave Turner are small and easily blocked even with the ECP&DA work party small amounts of the Canadian pond weed in the canal. We unblocked the gate paddles but instead of attacking the blocked ground paddle chamber as suggested set about recovering the detached paddle on the towing path side. This turned out to be an old wooden one that had seen better days and so we replaced it with a coplastic one that we just happened to have Arrival of ECPDA’s workboat Pentland two years ago in stock (don’t ask!) A new ECPDA
Erewash Canal
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