Canal to stay shut to navigation after dry weather

Part of the Oxford Canal will remain shut to navigation throughout September because of the impact of the dry weather on reservoirs.

The Canal & River Trust said the closure would affect a stretch of 16 locks between Claydon in Oxfordshire and Aynho Weir in Northamptonshire until at least 30 September.

Previously the trust said it had to close it because of "increasingly limited water resources" and to protect the canal's infrastructure and ecology.

The Oxford Canal through Banbury and north of the town, is fed by a number of reservoirs, including those at Clattercote, near Boddington, Byfield in Northamptonshire and Wormleighton in Warwickshire.

The trust said on its website: "If it rains enough to allow safe navigation, restrictions will be lifted: this is likely to require sufficient and prolonged rain over several weeks rather than a sudden very heavy downpour.

"We understand that this continues to be disappointing news, and our priority is to reopen the canal to full navigation as soon as possible."

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