Leeds-Liverpool Canal Link at the Pier Head - geograph

The Liverpool Canal Link is an English waterway link that connects the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

, at the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...

, to the city's South Docks. It cost £22m and was opened in March 2009. The new link adds of navigable waterway to the canal system.

History

It was intended that the

would be linked to the docks in

. It was only in 1846, 30 years after the canal's completion, that the canal was directly linked to the docks via the Stanley Dock Branch. Georges Dock was filled in at the beginning of the 20th century to allow the building of the

Liver Building The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's '' Three Graces'', which line the ...

, Cunard Building and the

Mersey Docks and Harbour Board The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed north ...

Building, now known as "the Three Graces". This meant the North and South Docks were no longer directly linked. Boats wishing to travel from the North Docks to the South Docks had to go via the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

Planning

By 2000 there were several new canal projects such as the renovation of the

Huddersfield Narrow Canal The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin in Huddersfield, to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whi ...

, the Ribble Link and Rochdale Canal. The Waterways Regeneration Task Force, part of

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...

took over the South Docks from English Partnerships. The Task Force approached the Liverpool City Council's Liverpool City Vision with the suggestion of linking the

to the South Docks by building a new waterway across Pier Head. Four routes were proposed and after public consultation in 2001 a route was chosen. The winning route was across the front of the Three Graces at the Pier Head. Feasibility work was funded by the North West Regional Development Agency,

Regeneration Task Force and a detailed proposal drawn up during 2003. Funding for the work came from the NWRDA, (50%) with the rest coming from Europe via the ERDF Objective 1 programme. The original estimate was £17 million. After some changes to the plans following the failed Fourth Grace project and objections by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

a new plan was drawn up by March 2005 which took account of the new Museum of Liverpool. Planning permission was applied for in August 2005 and granted in early 2006.

Route

The chosen route includes two new locks, open channels, tunnels and culverts. Two new highway bridges were built, as well as flow control structures and utility diversions. The docks between

Salisbury Dock Salisbury Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and is connected to Nelson Dock to the north, Trafalgar Dock to the south and inland to Collingw ...

and Prince's Half-Tide Dock were filled in with just a small drainage channel remaining. Following dredging in the 1990s, this section was in water and navigable. Further dredging took place at the northern edge of the

Trafalgar Dock Trafalgar Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Salisbury Dock to the north. The sites of two former docks are located in the ...

infill. Between Trafalgar Dock and the Prince's Half-Tide Dock a -wide channel through Trafalgar Dock and the northern end of

West Waterloo Dock Waterloo Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Princes Half Tide Dock to the south. The site of Victoria Dock is located to the ...

was built, with a new crossing at the dock passage between Trafalgar and West Waterloo Dock. The channel from West Waterloo Dock to Prince's Dock was dredged and the level of the docks reduced. From the northern end of Prince's Dock through to the start of the Pier Head area a new fixed bridge and lock was built at Prince's Dock. Prince's Dock Footbridge was raised to allow boats to pass underneath and the bridge approaches have been landscaped. A new culvert across land known as Plot 7 was built along with another new culvert beneath St. Nicholas Place and the cruise liner facility. The final section of the canal link commences south of the Floating Roadway Basin, crosses the Pier Head and terminates at Canning Dock. of new canal was built along with associated bridge crossings and a lock structure. A new basin was built at Mann Island along with extensive landscaping for the general public.

Construction

In 2007, during the construction of the canal link, the sites of Chester Basin and Manchester Dock were excavated. The excavation revealed various carved stones in the area of Chester Basin, which were identified as being from the Liverpool Town Hall of 1673. The excavation was shown in a '' Time Team Special'', broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

on Monday 21 April 2008. The canal link was completed in December 2008 with the

section finished earlier in September. After a period of testing and commissioning the canal link opened on 25 March 2009.

Images

Northern portal of St Nicholas Tunnel.jpg, Northern portal of St Nicholas tunnel in Princes Dock Liver Basin towards Cunard Tunnel 1.jpg, Liver Basin towards Cunard Tunnel; Museum Basin lies beyond Museum Basin towards Museum Tunnel.jpg, Museum Basin towards Museum Tunnel Mann Island lock.jpg, Mann Island lock, the exit from the canal into Canning Dock Southern portal, Museum Tunnel 1.jpg, Museum Tunnel from Mann Island Basin Museum Basin towards Cunard Tunnel.jpg, From Museum tunnel into Museum Basin and towards Cunard Tunnel Southern portal of Cunard Tunnel 1.jpg, Southern portal of Cunard Tunnel, from the west bank Liver Basin towards St Nicholas Tunnel.jpg, Liver Basin towards St Nicholas Tunnel Southern portal of St Nicholas Tunnel.jpg, The southern portal of St Nicholas Tunnel; the link veers to the north under St Nicholas Place here Lock to Canal Link in Princes Dock.jpg, Entry into Princes Dock is via this lock

References

External links

*
Pennine Waterways, includes virtual tour of Canal Link

{{Liverpool City Centre Canals in England Canals in Merseyside Canals in Liverpool Transport in Liverpool Tourist attractions in Liverpool Canals opened in 2009