Work at West Leaze Swindon

Bank Piling at West Leaze

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is carrying out important repair work at West Leaze. The purpose of this work is to stabilize the towpath and the bank; without these repairs, the bank would continue to erode, with consequent risks to the safety of the footpath. This work involves piling for a length of about 120 metres.The work has been closely supervised by a consultant ecologist as the area supports an active population of water voles. The Trust is also being very careful to work with Thames Water and other providers of services to ensure there is no risk to these services.

The contractors expect  to be finishing on about the 21st June, but that of course depends on them encountering no unforeseen surprises. Worrk is not expected to be carried out at the weekend, and normally they expect to finish by about 6 o'clock in the afternoon. After the contractors have completed the piling, there may well be work that the Trust will have to carry out to finish off the site, probably including using ‘soft edge’ coir rolls for bank protection.

The Trust is conscious of the disruption caused, by having to close the towpath, and  by the piling itself. The Trust  asks that you to bear with them  while  this essential maintenance work is carried out . If you can avoid the area of the works, it will be very helpful to allow the work to be completed in the shortest possible time.