Here is the latest news from CRT, dated yesterday at 17:24:
Unfortunately, whilst the works at Marple Lock 11 have been progressing steadily throughout the winter so far, they are a few weeks behind our original intended schedule.
It is now planned to re-open the canal to boats by close of play on Friday 24th May 2019. Delays have been encountered in the piling phase of the works, with the augering of the ground and reinforced concrete pile installation behind the existing lock walls proving slower than expected, as well as having to address some design changes due to site constraints. However, the piling is now complete, ensuring the ground is stable so that the failed lock walls can be carefully dismantled.
Given the progression of the works to date, at this stage we now have more certainty regarding the expected duration of the next phase; take-down of both lock walls, followed by their re-building back to the correct alignment. This is complex and time consuming, as the walls are being re-constructed like-for-like, in order to comply with heritage requirements. Lock 11 is a Grade II Listed structure.
We apologise for this ongoing closure, and are pushing forward to complete the re-construction of the lock as soon as possible.
Note: the extra post made in error and others responding to it have been removed.