They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and that was certainly the case after a group of offenders helped spruce up a Cheshire landmark and learned some valuable skills in the process.
Supervised teams, completing court-ordered unpaid work requirements, helped improve Anderton Boat Lift with landscaping and maintenance work.
The work included cutting back overgrown vegetation, maintaining the landscaped grounds, building benches and items for the play area, and building planters.
It was part of the Community Payback scheme – the delivery of unpaid work ordered by courts as part of a community sentence. It is intended to ensure people on probation repay their debt to society by helping the communities they have affected.
Jon Horsfall, regional director for Canal & River Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and support the community payback scheme, which has helped contribute to the vital maintenance and improvements at Anderton Boat Lift, the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’.”
He said the partnership, which was now in its fifth year, had delivered over a quarter of a million hours’ of improvements to the trust’s waterways.
He added: “The project provides our charity with essential labour that supports the upkeep and preservation of our attractions and canals for local communities to enjoy.”
As well as supporting the charity, the unpaid work is designed to teach offenders practical landscaping and woodwork skills which can help them turn their backs on crime.
Catherine McKinnell, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Re-offending, said: “Projects like this make sure offenders give back to the communities they’ve harmed through hard, manual work.
“As well as supporting valuable charity run attractions like Anderton Boat Lift, the unpaid work means offenders gain skills and work experience, helping them to find employment and reduce re-offending.
“Delivering punishment that also works to cut crime will make our streets safer and better protect the public.”
The Anderton Boat Lift is one of only two working boat lifts in the UK. Designed by Edwin Clark in 1875 to transfer boats and barges between the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal across a height of 50 feet.
It was in operation for more than 100 years until it closed in 1983 due to corrosion. It opened to the public again in 2002 after a huge renovation project began in 2001.
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