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Search the Public Notice PortalAN historic crane at the heart of a controversial development site near Northwich town centre has been awarded official listed status.
Historic England has now added Navigation Yard’s electric Scotch Derrick crane, including its associated waggon rails, to the National Heritage Grade II List for England.
The crane was officially given the designation on Monday, October 12.
Built in 1923 by William Morgan and Co for the Weaver Navigation Company, the crane was used to lift lock gates from the River Weaver for repair.
Historic England said it is a ‘rare surviving example’ of an early electrically powered Scotch Derrick crane, and 'retains both its original direct current equipment and later alternating current machinery'.
The listing shines a fresh light on Navigation Yard, the three-acre riverside site on Navigation Road.
It was sold to developer Laurence Daw in 2024 after a lengthy disposal process by the Canal and River Trust (CRT).
The site had been marketed with a guide price of around £1.6million, but the sale also attracted strong interest from local heritage campaigners.
Campaign groups, including the River Weaver Navigation Society, have long argued the yard 'represents one of the last significant surviving links to Northwich's rich river and salt-making history'.
Navigation Yard was once home to W. J. Yarwood & Sons, one of the best known inland shipbuilders in the country, having launched more than 1,000 vessels for the Manchester Ship Canal Company, Brunner Mond, the Admiralty, and others.
The site later became a regional headquarters for British Waterways, and later CRT.
Maintenance teams continued to operate from the yard, repairing lock gates, bridges, and infrastructure along the River Weaver until the 2010s.
Historic England said the crane is nationally significant because of its rarity, and its role in the operations of the Weaver Navigation.
The designation also covers the surviving rails and turntable used to transport lock gates around the repair yard.
The watchdog noted the crane has strong historic links with the site's other listed structures, including Navigation House, the Area Office, and the Clock Tower.
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