Nantwich Town councillors have called on the Canal & River Trust to make urgent repairs to Nantwich Aqueduct.
The 200-year-old structure – designed by Thomas Telford – was badly damaged when a heavy farm vehicle crashed into it in 2021.
However, councillors say they have been told by CRT that repairs won’t be carried out on the Grade II Listed structure until 2026.
Cllr Peter Groves put forward a Notice of Motion to the town council on Thursday.
He said: “It follows a recent meeting with Nantwich Civic Society about the state of the aqueduct.
“There are concerns about the state of the embankment and bridge, after being hit by the vehicle in 2021.
“The driver of the vehicle was never traced and it means CRT will have to pay for the repairs.
“The state of the aqueduct creates a bad impression for people coming into Nantwich.
“Why does it take five years to carry out the repairs?”
He said Nantwich Civic Society has written to CRT and added that they had been “fobbed off”.
“As a council, we should write to the trust to expedite repairs as soon as possible,” he added.
Other councillors said water is leaking from the canal along the embankment.
Cllr Geoff Smith added: “The financial situation of Canal River Trust is dire as millions of pounds have been taken from them by the last Government.
“When we say five years to repair – it’s because there is no money. The trust does an amazing job under very difficult financial pressure.
“If repairs are carried out, we need to have control measures in place to make sure motorists do not get away with doing damage to it.”
Cllr Arthur Moran pointed out that CRT did spend £250,000 on refurbishing the aqueduct around eight years.
“It was a lot of money and we went to the grand re-opening. It was a real pity it was damaged in the accident.”
Councillors agreed that the town council clerk should write to Canal & River Trust.
Dave Clarkson, senior asset engineer at Canal & River Trust, said: “Nantwich Aqueduct, like all of the county’s canals, is important local heritage which our charity and volunteers raise funds and work to keep open and alive.
“The Grade II* structure was inspected by our specialist engineer after the ‘hit and run’ collision and fortunately the damage didn’t affect the structural integrity of the aqueduct.
“Since then, the aqueduct has a monthly Safety and Service Inspection to ensure no further deterioration or degradation has occurred.
“Given its importance we are pleased that it remains stable and there is no evidence of leakage from the canal due to the damage.
“It is really frustrating that hundreds of centuries-old canal structures like this are damaged each year by modern traffic, however, as a charity with limited resources, we have to programme the works on a priority basis so that the most damaged and at risk are repaired first.”
What a joke…..
NTC complaining about other organizations not able to maintain land and structures which is there
responsibility?
A bit like them selves. …..
Not able to maintain allotments in Nantwich.?
Perhaps the Councillors could organise a working party weekend to spruce up the bridge, remove the weeds, give it a clean where access is safe and possible? Im sure a lot of people would turn up to help.
Too much time spent debating things, pointing fingers rather than being proactive.
Maybe CE should put cameras up both sides , at least those responsible can then be held to account.
It’s not the only bridge to be damaged, Bridge 100 is at risk of collapse
I thought it had always leaked at least some water after all water takes the quickest way down hence mining terms adit
Can’t say I have ever noticed it. The town council seem to spend lots of their time talking about stuff that has nothing to do with them.
Sounds like a bunch of self important individuals with nothing better to do than bask in their own smog.
They are a charity which look after the whole canal and river network, they were allocated government funding which has decreased each year which was the plan from the outset.
They are struggling to fill this gap,which mainly comes from licence fees from the boats,the expenditure is huge due to an ageing network and a high cost of hiring in specialist people for large projects.
The aqueduct in Nantwhich will be part of a long list of jobs ,as its not losing any water and is only cosmetic it will not be done anytime soon.
They are a charitable organisation
enough is enough, £250k on repairs then a lorry hits it, just how much more money will be given to the river trust, time they were self sufficient and ran it as a business like the rest of us