Council leader praises ‘swift and professional’ response to Whitchurch canal breach
Shropshire Council's leader has given thanks to the teams working to support boaters following the catastrophic collapse of an canal embankment in Whitchurch.
In the early hours of Monday, December 22, a serious breach tore through an 200-year-old embankment on the Llangollen Canal in Whitchurch.
One side of the large embankment totally collapsed, sending hundreds of millions of litres of water from more than 30 kilometres of canal out into neighbouring fields.
For boats moored close by, the impact was catastrophic: two were swept into the newly formed void, a third was left teetering on the edge of the collapse, while eight boats were left stranded on the bottom of the now waterless canal bed.
Around a dozen boaters were evacuated, with some provided emergency accommodation local hotels while other took up the offer of canal hire boats from local businesses.
Following the emergency response Shropshire Council and the Canal and River Trust say they are continuing to work closely with residents and boaters to ensure everyone receives the assistance they need during the recovery period.
Heather Kidd, leader of the council, said: “We’re continuing to work closely with our partner agencies as clearly this incident will take some time to fully resolve.
“There have been so many involved in responding at pace: from our emergency planners who have led the co-ordination of the council’s response, to our housing team and social care teams who have been working to ensure that those affected are safe and well, and to find temporary accommodation for them, both in the short and longer term.
“Our highways teams have been helping to ensure that the site is secured and that access is limited, to ensure the safety of local residents. We understand that people needs may change as they come to terms with their situation and to encourage residents to contact us for support as needed over the coming weeks.
“I would like to thank all of those who have acted so swiftly and professionally in what was clearly a very frightening situation.”
Matthew Symonds, head of boating and customer service at The Canal and River Trust, said: “Our priority has been to ensure that everyone is safe and offer what support we can to those most affected.
"Our partners at the Council have ensured emergency accommodation both at local hotels and on some canal hire boats. This includes the people on the four boats at the breach site as well as their pets."
“We have been installing temporary dams so that we can start to refloat six further boats not immediately in the breach site as well as the process of identifying the cause of the breach and the work to rebuild the canal which will take some time and considerable cost.”
The canal towpath near the breach site remains closed for safety reasons, and the public is urged not to attempt to bypass barriers or enter closed areas.
