Updated 1.4.06

Exciting new plans were unveiled today for an ambitious new canal across Cheshire. This 17 mile long navigation will relieve pressure on the Cheshire Ring as well as providing opportunities for new cruising routes. It will create a shorter version of the Cheshire Ring, omitting Manchester, which could be easily accomplished by novice boaters within a week. It would also create a more direct route between Manchester and the Midlands.

The proposed route would leave the Bridgewater Canal in the Little Bollington area, following the Bollin Valley, before swinging southwards towards Monks Heath, connecting with the Macclesfield Canal to the south of the town of Macclesfield, with a new junction being constructed near the Royal Oak swing bridge at Fools Nook.

In addition to creating a new leisure corridor, the new waterway could be a catalyst for the regeneration of run-down areas of Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.

There is potential to extend this route in the future via the previously proposed canal route from Bosley, past Rudyard Lake to the Leek Branch of the Caldon Canal, creating an exciting network of canals in this popular boating area.

There is a substantial height difference of around 43 locks between the Bridgewater Canal and the Macclesfield Canal summit level, so it is proposed to design a new kind of lock so that fewer will be required. BW are keeping plans for these locks close to their chest for now but they are believed to involve the use of caissons in several locations. This idea was first tried on the Somersetshire Coal Canal but the new versions are believed to be much more technically advanced. Caissons could run on tracks up to 400 metres long, replacing up to eight locks. Congestion could be avoided by creating a flume arrangement for boats travelling downhill.

Local boater Avril d'Abord, who moors her narrowboat Polar Foil near Bosley, was very excited by the proposals. "I am very excited by the proposals," she commented. "This will give us some new routes to explore and I'm sure it will be a boost to local businesses."

However, Cheshire canal enthusiast Kat Gawby is not impressed. "I am concerned about the lack of consultation," she complained. "This is the first we have heard of this proposal. It is another example of BW turning the waterways into a giant theme park."

British Waterways External Relations Manager, Eugene Baston, said: "The canal network has always changed in its 200 year old history and has proved itself to be highly adaptable. Indeed, this is why it is still here today."

"The new style locks would complement the 200-year old technology elsewhere in the area to make for an interesting boating experience," continued Mr Baston. "It really is a canal for today!"