A programme of extensive restoration at the Anderton Boat Lift, in the English county of Cheshire, has been paused after the waterways charity Canal and River Trust, which is overseeing the project, confirmed that the additional spend is currently “unaffordable”.
The storied Anderton Boat Lift — often said to be the world’s first boat lift — was constructed in 1875 near Northwich by engineer Edwin Clark, and designed to connect the Trent & Mersey Canal to the River Weaver Navigation, overcoming a 50ft height difference.
The lift, which turned 150 this year, is sometimes referred to as the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’. It operated for much of its history despite a period of closure during the 1980s and 1990s due to structural concerns.
Following a £7m restoration completed in 2002, it reopened as both a working boat lift and a visitor attraction. The lift underwent a £450,000 repair in 2022 after the failure of a safety mechanism of one of the lift gates.
The structure has been closed since January 2025, when a lifting gate cable broke on the upper west canal side caisson during a routine test. This has made it impossible for boaters to use routes connecting the Trent & Mersey Canal and the River Weaver at Anderton.
The structure is in need of extensive renovations. The Canal and River Trust had been preparing for its ‘Engineering the Future’ project to revitalise the lift and visitor centre. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project’s scope was to include essential maintenance such as blast cleaning, repairs, repainting, and updates to the IT operating system. Additional plans involved replacing the timber control cabin and enhancing the visitor centre with a flexible event space. The total estimated cost of these works was between £13.5m and £15m. Refurbishment had been scheduled to begin in autumn 2025 and was expected to last 12–18 months.
However, in a statement issued by the Canal and River Trust, it confirms that it will now be prioritising reopening the structure and getting it operational for boaters. This means the extended restoration project and renovations to the visitor centre are currently paused.
Jon Horsfall, regional director for the Canal and River Trust, says: “The priority for our charity is getting the lift open and operational for navigation. It is a remarkable structure and a defining landmark of Britain’s waterways that continues to hold national significance for the canal network.
“The team remains committed to the long-term future of the Anderton Boat Lift. We are focusing on the works required to reopen navigation, whilst pausing the additional spend elsewhere at the lift, which is currently unaffordable. In doing so, we are making sure that the limited money our charity has stretches as far as possible so that there is adequate investment in other key areas for navigation, including locks, bridges, aqueducts and the network as a whole.
“I’d like to thank our volunteers, donors, partners and the continued interest and vital support we received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, both here at Anderton but also across the North West and wider canal network.”
Works now scheduled to take place will enable the lift to transfer boats between the Trent & Mersey Canal and the River Weaver once again in 2027. The trust says this will remedy the fault with the structure’s caisson gates, and also provide an overdue update to the lift’s operating system required to make the lift’s passage of boats more resilient.
In a statement, the trust says: “The installation will happen over the winter of 2026/27 with one caisson being opened in time for the summer season in 2027, and the other caisson also opening as soon as possible after that.
“Although this seems a long time off, the works are complicated and time-consuming. They will see a new lifting mechanism installed on ten separate gates, replacing the current ropes, wires and pulleys. The new system will be robust, future-proof, safe to operate and safer to maintain.”
Canal and River Trust’s annual report and accounts for 2024 revealed a year marked by record spending on maintenance, and increasing pressures on its operations due to the ageing canal infrastructure and rising costs exacerbated by climate change and inflation. These challenges come at a critical time, with the trust facing significant government funding cuts set to begin in 2027.
The Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre and coffee shop are open every weekend (10am-4pm) throughout the winter season.
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