Sunken boat closes canal from Oldham to Manchester

A series of weeks-long closures have frustrated boaters this year. A broken gate in Manchester city centre and a blown cill in Miles Platting meant boaters couldn’t reach the city centre until earlier this month, following weeks of closures.

Now, a sunken boat at Lock 74, near Ten Acres Lane in Monsall, has led the Canal & River Trust, which manages the waterway, to declare the canal closed for navigation between Failsworth and Piccadilly, in Manchester.

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

In a notice posted on its website, the Canal & River Trust said: “Please be advised navigation remains closed between Lock 66 and Lock 82 on the Rochdale Canal due to a sunken boat blocking navigation at Lock 74.

Map of the closure (Image: Canal & River Trust/Google)

“We are currently arranging for its removal with our contractors and an update will be provided by Thursday 28 September.”

Boaters shared their frustration in the Rochdale Canal Group on Facebook.

Tony Morgan said: “It sucks. Give me some pull lifts and two blokes, it would be on the towpath by six.”

Sylvia Taylor said: “It’s ridiculous to leave it there obstructing the cut for that long.”

Follow The Oldham Times on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Threads.

In August, the Canal & River Trust said it ‘shared boaters’ frustrations’ with the issues occurring on the canal, adding that government cuts would increase the challenge of managing the waterway.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it ‘recognised the benefits’ of canals and that it had been discussing with the charity ways to increase income from other sources.

Following more than two weeks of closure from late May to early June, the Rochdale Canal saw months of subsequent overlapping closures, with broken gates, paddles, sunken boats, and blown cills adding to a chaotic summer.

The canal has also been used as a dumping ground by vandals targeting the Firwood Community Woodland.

In April, a canal boat record store became stuck in the Failsworth portion of the canal after hitting a "rug or mattress".

Some boaters have even called the waterway the dirtiest they've encountered, with one cruiser vowing that he would "never again" attempt the canal.

The Rochdale Canal was fully opened in 1804 and was used to carry cargo, including coal, agricultural produce, and materials for the region’s bustling textile industry.

However, by the 1950s, commercial carrying had virtually finished and the canal, which was still in private hands, closed.

The canal was restored decades later, with the full canal re-opened in 2002.

Prior to 2012, the canal was managed by British Waterways, which was wholly owned by the government.

However, this was replaced by the Canal & River Trust charity in July 2012.

According to the government, its policy is that the Canal and River Trust should become "progressively more self-sufficient financially".