IWA is concerned that boaters have been trapped since September 2023, unable to pass through Glasson Dock because of a failure of the tidal gate that connects the Dock to the Sea, and a stand-off between the Port of Lancaster Commission which owns the gate, and the Environment Agency. The funding plight of navigation authorities in the area has been aggravated by the failure of a gate at the tidal end of the Ribble Link and a breach at Hollowforth Aqueduct, both of which are major works that will take months to fix at great expense. And boaters are, literally, stuck in the middle.
At Glasson Dock, the 38 year-old gate is currently stuck, and although it’s owned by the port, in 2001 the Environment Agency added an extension to the gate to make it a flood defence. The port is not responsible for flood defences for the area. No modifications were made to the supporting structures. Since then, the port maintained and operated the gate with minimal contribution from the Environment Agency. In recent years, the port has spent a fifth of its annual turnover maintaining the gate. Over three years ago the port informed the Environment Agency that the gate was beyond its lifespan and needed replacing and that the port could not afford to do this. The Agency confirmed that replacement funds were in its capital scheme budget.
Update October 2025 – The Lancaster canal is no longer isolated. The sea gate at the dock is still away for repair or replacement. Boats can use the basin lock and get out to sea, but there remains a problem is with high spring tides and flood risk to local population around the dock area. Ribble Link is fully back in operation and has been open for most of 2025 dependent, as always, on the weather and tides from April to September. Hollowforth Aqueduct has been fully repaired.
[The photo above shows Glasson Dock, with tide out but the sea gate still in place – taken in July 2024 – by David Faulkner.]