Local telecoms engineers help restore canal

Employees from a major telecommunications company have been helping improve the Montgomery Canal.

The Montgomery Canal is a partially restored 33 mile canal that runs from Newtown through Welshpool before crossing the border to Shropshire.

In total 18 local Openreach engineers have supported the Canal and River Trust restoration project to help bring the canal, which has been designated both a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest, back to its former glory.

The restoration work includes reconstructing bridges, dredging large sections of the canal to bring back open water space and repairing banks to reconnect the channel. 

Chris Lewis, who works as a specialist fibre engineer for Openreach across Mid Wales, has been part of the team working hard on the Crickheath section of the canal laying blocks and repairing the banks with stone and earth covering.

Chris explains: “We all live in the area and have visited or walked along the Llangollen part of the canal with our families in the past so we all have a connection to the ‘Monty’ canal.

“A number of us have supported the restoration works in the past so when we were approached by the Canal & River Trust to see if we would like to lend a hand this year again we were more than delighted to do so.

“Restoring the canal will not only bring benefits to the protected wildlife, flora and endangered species but also to the local community and economy. We’re all very proud that Openreach can play a small part in this important project by using our everyday transferrable engineering skills to help tackle important green issues.”

Recognising the impact building a UK-wide Full Fibre network can have on the environment, Openreach recently announced its Reach Zero strategy.

One of the key objectives of the strategy is to limiting the impact our engineers have on the environment and habitats they work in.

At present only eight miles of the canal is navigable after the canal fell into disuse following a breach in 1936 and was officially abandoned in 1944.

Tom Fulda, Restoration Project Manager for the Shropshire Union Canal Society, has been managing the restoration of the Crickheath section of the canal. Welcoming Openreach’s green skills and energy he said: “We welcomed back Openreach who had provided superb support on the previous section.

“This time they helped us complete the soft bank on the current restoration project. This is designed to maximise the net biodiversity gain from the restored canal. We owe a special thank you to the small army of Openreach volunteers who worked like trojans.”