Those of us interested in the restoration of the Montgomery Canal come from a wide range of backgrounds and have a variety of interests in the canal – including the natural environment and wildlife.
We are often asked about the environmental impacts of the restoration, so we have pulled together these Frequently Asked Questions to help answer any questions you have.
If you want to ask anything not covered here, please do get in touch.
The Montgomery Canal is an artificial waterway built over 200 years ago. When it fell into disuse commercially, much of the course of the canal became an overgrown linear area of brambles and saplings, with limited environmental value. In the 50 years that restoration has been ongoing, environmental improvements have been a major part of the restoration efforts with new nature reserves being built.
We appreciate that some people would like to see no restoration at all on the canal but we believe that carefully managed restoration and environmentally-aware maintenance is no different that the ongoing maintenance of other important heritage sites such as castles and ancient monuments. Our canals are part of our built historic heritage.
We believe canals are an important part of our heritage and require ongoing investment both financially and in terms of maintenance. This is always done with ecology and the environment foremost in our minds.
What sections of the Montgomery Canal have protected ecological status?
Wales – 23 miles of the Canal in Powys are in water – from Llanymynech to Freestone (on the outskirts of Newtown in Powys) – and they are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and also a Special Area of Conservation.
Recent restoration works in Powys have been approved by Natural Resources Wales.
England – In Shropshire, much of the 10 miles of Canal dried out in the years of dereliction but a section north from Aston remained in water. This section from Aston Locks to what was Keepers Bridge is about two miles long and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Restoration of the section which included the SSSI area was restored over 20 years ago with approval from Natural England.
The section currently under restoration in the Crickheath to Pant area in Shropshire is not in a SSSI.
All works in protected sections are undertaken with the approval of Natural England or Natural Resources Wales or their predecessors.
What mitigation takes place to help protect nature and create biodiversity gain?
Mitigation comes in various ways. Substantial new nature reserves have been built by the Canal’s restorers at Aston in Shropshire with Natural England’s approval. A large new nature reserve has also been built at Wern in Powys and another one is being built in Powys near the Vyrnwy Aqueduct, both with the approval of Natural Resources Wales.
In Shropshire, biodiversity is enhanced by the re-watering of the Canal, leading to aquatic life coming back to the area, such as fish, amphibians, water insects and molluscs, water birds and, it is hoped, water voles. There have been several sightings of otters at the newly restored sections at Crickheath, a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
In both counties, hedgerows are being maintained and extended, enhancing opportunities for nesting birds and other wildlife. New trees are also being planted.
Puddled clay is a special clay, which has to be extracted from the environment. It would need to be transported in large quantities in large lorries for quite a distance, causing carbon emissions.
Puddled clay is not easy to work with over significant lengths, using volunteer labour and monthly work parties. The existing method of relining the Canal is a tried and tested method, suitable for use by volunteers, thus bringing down the cost. Arguably, the original Canal builders would have used the liner method or similar had it been available 200 years ago.
Won’t restoration increase road traffic to the local area?
Making the Canal more accessible does mean more people will potentially visit, but we think most visitors will come to appreciate the beauty, history and tranquillity of the Canal.
We encourage people to understand and abide by the Countryside Code and bylaws. We encourage people to come to visit on foot, boat, bicycle and public transport wherever possible.
We don’t anticipate a reopened Montgomery Canal will add any noticeable traffic to local roads. Many visitors are already in the local area and the canal will just give them more places to stop and visit as well as new things to see.
Ultimately, we see sustainable tourism as being a driver both for the maintenance of the canal network and to encourage more people to engage and enjoy nature and wildlife.
We have already seen flooding locally, won’t the canal make this even worse?
Local flooding is not related to the Canal but to the rivers in the area and changes in climate.
The long-term answer to that is to hold water back further up the valleys. In some cases, the Canal can actually help move extra surface water as local streams and water run off drain into the Canal which then takes the water to the rivers via overflow weirs.
Properly maintained canals ultimately hold more water than those abandoned to scrub.
The Conservation Management Strategy for the Montgomery Canal looked at this in great detail. There is a balance to be struck between unlimited motorised boating and letting the Canal decay; the downside is visible in Shropshire where miles of the Canal dried out, and all the water-based life disappeared.
The Conservation Management Strategy concluded that the right way forward was a restriction on boat movements – up to 5,000 return movements a year in Shropshire and up to 2,500 in Powys. For comparison, the average annual movements in Shropshire on the restored section are about 1,200.
Put briefly, having some boats is good to ensure the Canal is kept in good order; too many boats is bad. So, the question is how many boats – which is what the Conservation Management Strategy dealt with. We see no need to increase the figures agreed.
Narrowboats are required to have holding tanks for their dirty wastewater. There is a possibility of some fossil fuel/lubricant run off but given the numbers of boats being limited this is unlikely to be a significant risk, especially when compared to road traffic spillages and other air-borne hydrocarbon emissions.
Water is a scarce resource, isn’t diverting it from natural rivers a real issue?
There are many demands which the public make on water supplies – washing cars, watering gardens and washing clothes, quite apart from actually drinking it and what nature needs.
Canals are watered by reservoirs, feeder streams and rivers. Where water is extracted from rivers, it’s done with approval and water taken is returned to watercourse along the canal’s length and in some cases used as a source of drinking water.
Canal restorers also like trees and trees are felled only when absolutely necessary, e.g. for safety along the towpath.
Recent felling at Waen Wen has been limited to only trees below the future waterline and a number of ash trees suffering die-back. All other trees will be retained.
As part of the canal the restoration new trees will be planted, along with hedgerow improvements.