PORTS & MARITIME >

Ports, Container Storage, Rivers and Canals

The British canal and river systems rapidly developed through the Industrial Revolution from the mid 18th century to its peak in the mid 19th century to around 7,000 miles of canals and rivers used in the transportation of goods, then with the increased development of rail and roads the waterways network dropped away to about 3,000 miles.

Since the formation of the Basingstoke Canal Purchasing Committee in March 1949, waterway restoration organisations have returned many hundreds of miles of abandoned canals to use, and work is still ongoing to save many more.

Many restoration projects have been led by local canal societies or trusts, which were initially formed to fight the closure of a remainder waterway or to save an abandoned canal from further decay.

Inland waters are categorised as A, B, C or D. This includes canals, non-tidal rivers, tidal rivers, large, deep lakes and lochs, and estuaries. Inland water categorisation policy and processes are dealt with by the Navigation Safety Branch (NSB) of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

These categories are defined and listed in Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) 1776.

There has also been a movement to redevelop canals in inner city areas, such as :

  • Birmingham
  • Manchester
  • Salford
  • Sheffield

which have both numerous waterways and urban blight.

In these cities, waterways redevelopment provides a focus for successful commercial/residential developments such as Gas Street Basin in:

  • Birmingham
  • Castlefield Basin
  • Salford Quays in Manchester
  • Victoria Quays in Sheffield.

The Consolid System can be used in any new or restoration project to strengthen the base layers in the ports, embankments and towpaths of our water based networks.

Consolid can be mixed with the in-situ soils and recycled material to form a barrier to capillary rise, frost heave and permeability of water; the process is permanent and irreversible once dried.

By using Consolid in any construction project you will be saving costs, financially and to the environment.

Environmental engineering for soil stabilisation