A section of canal that collapsed 90 years ago is set to be back in water and open to the public within months. Part of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal near Little Lever was breached in July 1936, sending millions of gallons of water cascading into the River Irwell below.
The gigantic breach happened close to the Nob End locks, on the canal's arm towards Bury, and the affected section was never restored. Now, work by Watson Homes, which is building a new 255-home estate alongside the waterway at the former Creams Mill site in Little Lever, is set to change that.
Restoration work underway
Watson has been restoring an 800-metre section of the waterway as part of its planning permission. The extensive work means the canal section is expected to be in water by May 2027. At the point of the collapse, a bend of the River Irwell had eroded the valley side, creating a steep slope. No one was injured, but the structural failure led to the canal's decline, with no attempts to repair it until now.
The project is supported by groups including the Inland Waterways Association and the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society. The canal society has commissioned a feasibility study with Bolton and Bury councils and the Canal & River Trust to investigate reopening the canal to navigation from Little Lever to Bury, and has been involved in other improvement projects along the canal.
Café and canoe school planned
The society's vision is to progressively restore the canal to fully navigable condition, creating 'blue-green spaces that aid wellbeing and environmental improvement'. The new waterway will also create a destination for visitors, with a planned café and a canoe and kayaking school.
Mike Watson, a director at the developers, described the waterway project as the 'centrepiece of the development taking place at Creams Mill' and 'a technically challenging but incredibly rewarding project'. He said: "We're working towards a date roughly around the end of May for starting to put water back into the canal but we're exploring opportunities to kind of bring that in slightly ahead of that by utilising temporary bunds and filling up some sections as we go."
He added: "We're starting to pick up pace now and we can start getting the lining down. We're building everything to adoptable standards from the Canals and Rivers Trust, doing all the connection agreements and licences and dealing closely with them."
Recreational facility to open
The café and canoe school have already been granted planning permission. Mr Watson said: "We've got the café and the canoe school going along the side of the waterway. They will be located just as you go under the bridge between the two development parcels. We're working on the finalised designs at the moment."
He added: "So we're hoping that that will all be up and running to coincide with the water date. So as we fully open up that area, we've got a full recreational facility there." The project will also introduce a new towpath and pedestrian routes alongside the new stretch of waterway.
