Our teams have now received the replacement parts and will be returning to site next week to undertake the necessary repairs to the pinion and associated gears.

Following completion of these works, our diving team will proceed with the removal of the stop planks, so navigation can be reopened, subject to the successful outcome of the repairs. We anticipate this will be undertaken within the next two weeks.

A further update will be provided on or before Friday, 20 February.

Since doing our investigations at Royal Vale Lock on the Weaver Navigation, our teams have been able to obtain safe access to inspect the gearing to see what is preventing one of the gates being operated.

It has now become apparent several parts of the gear segments have been damaged and will need replacing.

Our teams have sourced the majority of the replacement parts, however due to the parts being a specialist design and bespoke to the gearing at Vale Royal, the current time is expected to be around 2 weeks for the parts to arrive, at which point our contractors will return to complete the repairs. The estimated time for completion will be updated once our contractors have been on site.

Whilst repairs continue, navigation will remain closed whilst the stop planks will remain in place and we will take this opportunity to carry out repairs to the pinion and other gears.

A further update will be provide on or before Friday 6 February.

We apologise for the delay, but works to Vale Royal Lock have had to be placed on hold while we seek additional heritage approval to carry out essential stonework, which is necessary for us to complete the repair works. In the meantime, while we await this approval, we will be reopening the lock for bookings for narrowboats only. These bookings can be made online or by contacting our North West Customer Service team.

Once we have the required approvals, we will need to close the lock again to install stop planks and carry out the repair works, which we expect will take approximately one week to complete.

We will provide a further update on or before Friday, 23 January.

Works have continued to progress well at Vale Royal Lock since our last update. Unfortunately, we have experienced some delays due to the need for additional modifications to ensure a safe working environment.

  We expect these works to take place during the coming week, and subject to successful repairs, we anticipate reopening the navigation next week.

  We will provide a further update on or before Monday 1st December.

Since our last update we now have a date for works to be carried out to Vale Royal Lock which will be done in our winter works programme.

The works will take place from 17th November to 24th November and we anticipate these works to take a week.

We will provide an update on or before the 24th November.

Availability for bookings will be back on 25th November.

The team has been working closely with contractors, and the planned repairs are now incorporated into our winter works programme, which is scheduled to begin in November. This timing has been carefully chosen to minimise disruption for our boating customers.

Vale Royal small lock will remain operational for narrowboats throughout the works, ensuring continued access during this period.

A further update will be given towards the end of October.

Earlier this month, divers inspected the damaged lock operation gearing. To complete the repair, we are working with our contractors to plan the next phase of works.

This will involve safely installing stop planks and draining the lock so the damaged gearing can be removed, repaired, and re-installed.

Vale Royal small lock remains operational for narrowboats.

A further update will be provided towards the end of September, with the repair works scheduled for the winter months to minimise disruption for our boating customers.

We are continuing to work closely with our specialist teams to plan the necessary repairs to Vale Royal Lock.

We are waiting on our engineers to assess this complex repair as the nature of this mechanical issue is complex, whilst being mindful to to minimise disruptions to avoid prolonged closure.

We remain committed to resolving the issue and returning the lock to full operation as soon as possible. In the meantime, the lock remains restricted to narrowboats only.

A further update will be provided on Wednesday 27 August.

Following our previous update, we continue to work closely with our specialist teams to plan the necessary repairs to Vale Royal Lock.

We are working to develop a repair approach that minimises disruption and avoids a prolonged closure but these take time to plan and co-ordinariate.

We remain committed to resolving the issue and returning the lock to full operation as soon as possible. In the meantime, the lock remains restricted to narrowboats only.

A further update will be provided on Wednesday, 25 June.

Following our previous update, we are continuing to work closely with our specialist teams to plan the necessary repairs to Vale Royal Lock. The nature of the mechanical issue and the complex site conditions mean that developing a safe and effective repair approach is taking longer than anticipated.

We remain committed to resolving the issue and returning the lock to full operation as soon as possible. In the meantime, the lock continues to be restricted to narrowboats only.

We will provide a further update on or before Wednesday 28 May.

Vale Royal Lock on the Weaver Navigation continues to be restricted to narrowboats only. This is due to a mechanical issue affecting the gears that operate one of the lock gates. Unfortunately, this fault currently prevents safe operation for wider craft, and as a result, we are unable to accommodate broad-beam vessels at this time.

We have engaged our specialist contractors to carry out a detailed assessment and to develop a repair plan. However, the repair work is proving to be complex due to the challenging access arrangements at the lock site. and the need for specialist equipment mean that both the planning and delivery of these repairs will take some time.

We appreciate that this restriction may cause inconvenience to some of our boating customers, and we want to reassure you that we are working as quickly and safely as possible to resolve the issue.

A further update will be provided on Thursday 8 May.

This notice was originally posted on an old system which has now been upgraded, the original description and latest update have been transferred here. To view any historical updates related to this notice, please click here.

Original message issued 3 April 2025:

Navigation through Vale Royal Lock on the Weaver Navigation is currently restricted to narrow boats only, due to an issue with the top gate operating mechanism slipping, the gates cannot be opened until repaired.

Our local team have been informed and will be planning a method of repairs.