14/09/2026
Cllr Tim Nelson spent the morning with the volunteers from the The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust today.
The locks along the canal were built with these massive sandstone blocks, we would probably use concrete nowadays. Concrete is functional but seldom beautiful and its weathering is ... mixed? We're trying to be generous: much concrete seems to weather into ugliness. Not so this warm red rock.
The lock is disused for navigation but the bones of the engineering remain. Roots and plants will attack the structure. The pond is off limits due to the SSSI, but the coping stones can be saved. It makes the lock look cared for, members of the public passing by, many of them, seem to understand.
Tim said: "This was also an opportunity to check and confirm with the canal volunteers my appreciation of just how important open water is to the canals essence. It is my belief the canal is not a ditch nor even a lake, but a man made waterway designed for boats, and this potential function remains a profound part of the amenity the canal delivers for the public.
"It is wonderful that the canal is home to do much nature and wildlife. It is wonderful that the Strine river that runs alongside does too. This means that the canal, in my view, can also provide leisure amenity, e.g. fishing, and also limited use by watercraft. Which was, after all, the canals original purpose and design."
