Walkers and cyclists can use the full towpath again from Monday.

The full length of the Calder canal towpath will reopen to walkers and cyclists from Monday, six months after a section near the Tanner’s Yard lock was closed when part of the bank collapsed into the water following heavy rain in the spring.

The closure cut the 11-kilometre path, which runs from the old town to the edge of Harrow, in two, forcing an estimated 3,000 daily users onto a diversion along the busy Mill Road. Cyclists who use the towpath to commute between the eastern estates and the city centre complained of a longer and more dangerous journey, and businesses along the canal reported a drop in passing trade.

The repair, carried out by the regional waterways trust with funding from City Hall, has cost around £1.8m. Engineers rebuilt a 140-metre stretch of the canal bank, replacing crumbling Victorian brickwork with steel sheet piling faced in reclaimed stone, and widened the path from two metres to three along the repaired section.

What went wrong, and what was fixed

The collapse in April followed weeks of heavy rain that saturated the embankment. Inspections found that the brick wall supporting the path had been weakened for decades by tree roots and water seeping through cracked mortar. When a section gave way, around 40 metres of the towpath slid into the canal, taking a lamp post and a bench with it. No one was hurt.

“Once we opened up the bank, we found the problem was much bigger than the bit that fell in,” said Imogen Strathairn, the waterways trust’s project engineer. “If we had only patched the collapse, we’d have been back here in two years. So we rebuilt the whole weak stretch properly. It should be good for another century.”

Ms Strathairn said the work took longer than first hoped because the canal had to be partly drained and a population of protected water voles relocated before construction could begin. Ecologists moved the voles to a stretch of bank upstream in June, and new planted ledges have been built into the repaired wall to encourage them to return.

Changes for path users

Walkers and cyclists returning to the towpath will notice several changes along the repaired section and around it:

  • the path is now three metres wide between Tanner’s Yard lock and the Foundry Street bridge
  • new low-level lighting runs along the repaired stretch, switched on from dusk to 11pm
  • a resurfaced ramp at Foundry Street replaces the old steps, giving step-free access for wheelchairs and pushchairs
  • two new benches and a cycle repair stand have been installed near the lock

The trust is asking cyclists to keep their speed down and to ring a bell when approaching walkers from behind. Signs reminding users to share the path will be placed at each access point, and volunteer rangers will be on the towpath during the morning and evening rush hours for the first fortnight.

Councillor Desmond Achterlonie, City Hall’s cabinet member for transport, said the reopening was overdue. “The canal path is one of the most important routes in the city for people who walk and cycle. Six months without it has been a real hardship for thousands of people, and I’m grateful for their patience,” he said.

Back to the water

Traders along the canal are hoping for a quick return of the footfall they lost. Selma Kotarba, who runs the Lockside Café at Tanner’s Yard, said takings fell by more than half over the summer. “People used to stop for a coffee on their way to work,” she said. “When the path closed, they just went another way. We’re putting on free tea for everyone who walks past on Monday morning.” A short reopening ceremony will take place at the lock at 8am on Monday, after which barriers will be removed. Mill Road diversion signs will be taken down later the same day.