BMF - British Marine Federation

12/02/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 12/02/2025 04:16

Canal & River Trust update on engineering the future at Anderton Boat Lift

2 December 2025

The Canal & River Trust has announced that it will be prioritising the programme of works at Anderton Boat Lift which will see the 'Cathedral of the Canals' back open and operational.

The investment will enable the lift to transfer boats between the Trent & Mersey Canal and the River Weaver once again in summer 2027. This will remedy the fault with the structure's caisson gates, discovered during routine maintenance earlier this year, and also provide an overdue update to the lift's operating system required to make the lift's day-to-day running more resilient.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant which was awarded for Anderton's Engineering The Future project in 2022 was allocated to initial project outliers such as investigations, surveys, trials and civil designs on the Lift as well as architectural plans and design works for the visitor centre, audience mapping and consultation. However, the next stage of the project requires a much larger investment in the lift, that would require considerable and unaffordable capital spend from the Trust.

Therefore, a difficult decision has been made to pause the project for the present time. We hope to move the project forward in the future, and we will be submitting a bid for funding at the national level to National Lottery Heritage Fund then.

This means deferring the painting of the lift's three-storey high iron superstructure together with major investment in the visitor centre and grounds at Anderton.

The priority for our charity is getting the lift open and operational for navigation. It is a remarkable structure and a defining landmark of Britain's waterways that continues to hold national significance for the canal network and for the communities and visitors it serves. The team remains committed to the long-term future of the Anderton Boat Lift. We are focussing on the works required to reopen navigation, whilst pausing the additional spend elsewhere on the lift which is currently unaffordable. In doing so, we are making sure that the limited money our charity has stretches as far as possible so that there is adequate investment in other key areas for navigation including locks, bridges, aqueducts and the network as a whole. I'd like to thank our partners and the continued interest and vital support we received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, both here at Anderton but also across the North West and wider canal network.

Jon HorsfallRegional Director at Canal & River Trust

Anderton Boat Lift remains a popular visitor attraction, and the team is excited to welcome visitors during this winter period. The visitor centre and coffee shop are open every weekend (10am-4pm) throughout the winter season. Don't miss the free drop-in craft activities running this December, and popular Santa Cruises for songs and stories with Santa and his elves as you travel along the River Weaver.

BMF - British Marine Federation published this content on December 02, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 02, 2025 at 10:16 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]