Residents frustrated as towpath upgrades stall

Users of a stretch of the Grand Union Canal are concerned thousands of pounds intended for urgent towpath upgrades may disappear unless used.

Residents in Apsley, Hertfordshire, have told the BBC the towpaths have deteriorated to an impassable state in wet weather because of potholes and mud.

The Canal & River Trust, which manages 2,000 miles of towpaths across the UK, said additional funding was needed for a more comprehensive upgrade.

Dacorum Borough Council received an £80,000 contribution for “towpath improvements” in 2019 but the authority has said that a fully costed project plan was required before the funds could be released.

Brian Daniel, whose terraced house in Ebberns Road backs on to the canal, said: “We have lived on the canal for 20 years and watched the slow decline of the towpaths.

“I have personally witnessed people tripping on the wooden boards. I saw a teenage boy fall off his bicycle into the canal."

In January 2019, Dacorum Borough Council received money from the home builders responsible for the Frogmore Road development for "towpath improvements", under a legal Section 106 agreement.

The contract mandates that the funds be used for improving the deteriorating towpaths along the Grand Union Canal near the development by January 2029.

Anne Box, 91, witnessed the construction of the flats on Frogmore Road opposite her canal-side garden.

She said: "I feel we've been neglected.

"I feel it’s irresponsible. I feel it's not doing the neighbourhood any good. They are in no hurry to do anything about it.

"I'd love to go for a little walk around, but I don't dare walk along there in case I turned my ankle over or something and then fall over, because I'm at my age, I'm a bit wobbly."

The local authority and Hertfordshire County Council have been working with the Canal & River Trust on towpath upgrades in the area, with one section at Kings Langley completed last year.

The charity estimated that upgrading the towpaths in Apsley will cost £300,000 per kilometre, exceeding the money being held by the council.

It said: "We are working to secure match funding for a more comprehensive programme of works, rather than undertaking smaller individual, and therefore less cost-effective, improvements."

A council spokesperson said they would continue "to seek opportunities for external funding and developer contributions to make up the shortfall".

"As and when there is a full project plan for this section then Dacorum Borough Council will release the £80,000 funding to help to fund the improvement scheme," they added.

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