The repair of the breach near Cowley Bridge on the Macclesfield Canal has been very recently completed, writes John Allen.
Hence our ability to walk the towpath there.
Within a very short time following completion of the work several dozen saplings (hawthorn we think?) planted to replace the hedge that was presumably washed away are dead.
Many more look stressed. Does that matter to a boat owner? Not directly, but for certain indirectly through the payment of the boat licence. The amount of money involved may be small but is surely a clear indicator of poor management by the C&RT.
One assumes the contractor was told to 'make good' the hedge. Fine, but in June? In the middle of a drought?
Even if it was a wet summer any gardener knows the work of planting saplings should be carried out when the plants are dormant, i.e, at a suitable time during the autumn or winter.
Has nobody in the C&RT management got any common sense? The same could be said for the contractor but no doubt they just do what they're told and don't wish to be seen to be questioning the hand that feeds them.
A new strained wire fence is in place so the planting of the new hedge was not of paramount importance to indicate the boundary line.
What was the cost of several dozen hawthorn saplings together with the contractors' time? A few hundred pounds? Four figures? I don't know.
What I am convinced about is that the complete planting will surely be dead very soon which is a shame.