New oak lock gates are being installed at Mann Island lock within the Countryside and Neptune Development as part of the £20m creation of the innovative Liverpool Canal Link.

Weighing up to four tonnes in weight and almost five metres high the lock gates are carefully being craned into position within the lock chamber.

The massive gates were fabricated by local engineering company Twinbridge of Burscough and fitted with paddles and winding gear by British Waterways Stanley Ferry Workshop.

The new gates from the centrepiece of the Mann Island basin before boats descend into South Docks for their final step of their journey along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. For the first time in over a century canal boats will then be able to navigate the current 127 mile Canal.


Construction of the canal link is nearing the final stages as the Pier Head engineering works are almost complete with the Central Docks and Mann Island section progressing well.

Countryside Neptune LLP are delivering the final part of the Canal Link project as part of their mixed use development, which comprises 376 apartments together with leisure, retail and commercial space set within high quality public realm.

The new canal link will bring major economic benefit to Liverpool, echoing a time past when the city's docks were a transhipment hub for inland waterways freight.

Funding for the £20m new waterway has been secured from the Northwest regional Development Agency (NWDA), Merseyside Objective One programme (European Regional Development Fund), English Partnerships, Peel Holdings and British Waterways.

richard Longton, Project Manager of British Waterways, said: "The lock gates at Mann Island are particularly significant because they will effectively from the gateway into the South Docks when the Canal Link opens to boating traffic next spring."

(JM)