The Canal and River Trust has closed the canal towpath in Newbury between the A339 flyover and Hambridge Road until 9 September to upgrade the towpath and carry out bank repairs. The works are being funded by developer contributions from the Newbury Racecourse development.

The towpath surface had become badly eroded, particularly on the approach to Hambridge Road, where the top coating of fines had been eroded over time, exposing larger stones underneath, which made it uncomfortable to ride on. At the other end, the path was muddy and tended to attract puddles after it rained, which wasn’t great for walkers or cyclists.

There was also a problem where the path meets the bridges along the route, since the softer material on the path surface became eroded, creating a lip that was dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists alike and pretty unmanageable for anyone in a wheelchair.

SPOKES lobbied hard for the improvements to feature an all-weather, bound surface on this section, since it is so well-used and is essentially within the urban area and therefore appropriate in character. This should be much more durable and should not suffer from the same problems as the old crushed aggregate surface. We look forward to this being opened up for use in September.

We are also continuing to lobby for improvements to the towpath elsewhere across West Berkshire and hope that further works will be completed soon.