A DISASTER has been turned into an opportunity by Wiltshire Council as it takes advantage of work being carried out to the canal tow path in Devizes after major damage was caused.

The area board has agreed to bring forward planned resurfacing work on the path between Prison Bridge and Town Bridge so it only needs to be dug up once.

In a report officers said: "In October this year a lock paddle was left open overnight which allowed water to pour down

through the lock causing severe erosion of the embankment over a length of about 150m. As a result, the Canal and River Trust need to carry out a series of emergency repairs to bring the towpath back in to use.

"The unfortunate incident and resulting damage to the towpath means that the Canal and River Trust’s contractors will be on site repairing the damage. There is an opportunity to make some financial savings if the Council acts swiftly and decides to pay for the surface improvements to the damaged section of towpath."

It was estimated the original bill of £180,000 could be reduced by £15,000 by dovetailing with the repair work.

The committee agreed the Devizes and Air Quality Group could use £165,000 from a pot of money made up of contributions from developers for the work.

Members were told that the Devizes Transport Strategy wanted to encourage people to replace car trips with walking and cycling and encourage children to get to school on foot.

The report said: "The tow path provides a backbone to the cycling and walking network in the town. But in many areas the quality of the towpath surface is poor and does not lend itself to these types of trips.

"Earlier this year the council worked in partnership with the Canal and River Trust to improve the towpath surface from London Road to New Park Road and the improvements have been welcomed by many in the town."

The council will now enter into a grant agreement with the Canal and River Trust for it to provide a bound surface finish on the tow path between the two bridges.

The trust has also announced that a project to spend £720,000 completing essential repairs to Seend Wharf bridge has begun despite it meaning the bridge will be closed over the Christmas holiday.

Mark Evans, waterway manager at the Canal & River Trust said: "The repairs we’re doing to Seend Wharf Bridge are absolutely essential. I know that closing the bridge over Christmas is going to be annoying for people, but safety comes first and we’re at the stage where putting this off isn’t an option. We really appreciate people’s patience while we get this done, and we’ll do everything we can to keep people in the loop and update them on how the work is going."

Work will involve repairing cracks, strengthening the bridge arch and abutments, and fixing sections of the canal wall below the water level.

It will take just under four months to complete, with navigation along the canal set to resume on March 11, and the road due to reopen in mid-April. Diversions for road and towpath users will be signposted.

The project forms part of a £45 million programme of winter maintenance works on the country’s canals and rivers, which will also include replacing multi-tonne lock gates at historic Seend Lock in the new year.