Repairs to historic canal set to begin in Hinckley 

Works to repair a historic section of the Ashby Canal in Hinckley are set to get under way.

The Canal & River Trust, the charity that protects and preserves 2,000 miles of the nation's waterways, has been developing plans for the repair of the canal bank near Nutts Lane after it was reported damaged earlier this year. 

The damaged section of canal wall resulted in part of the towpath being washed away, and the Trust is about to begin works to repair the wall and restore the towpath. The repair will involve reinstating the canal bank with steel piling topped off with 'coping stones' along the towpath edge to preserve the historic character of the area. 

Construction work is due to begin at the end of June and expected to last three weeks. The towpath adjacent to the repairs will be closed during the works with a diversion over Nutts Lane Bridge. 

Phil Mulligan, regional director for the Canal & River Trust, said:

We're really pleased to be starting these important repairs on what is a popular stretch of towpath and we're grateful to the local community for their patience while we've been getting designs approved and specialist contractors in place. 

The Ashby Canal is a living, working piece of heritage, built more than 200 years ago, so when something unexpected like this happens, it's important to plan the works carefully so that they respect the heritage and ecology of the canal. 

It's a good example of the work we do as a charity to care for the Ashby Canal, protecting and preserving it to ensure it doesn't fall back into the dark days of canal dereliction and decline that was the story of the early and mid-20th century before their renaissance began. It is so important that Government, partners, funders and the community continue to support us to raise the money and resources required to sustain our historic but never-more-relevant canals and river navigations.