MBACT Canalside Volunteer and Learning Hub MBACT is pleased to announce that we have received seed funding from the Torfaen Community Resilience Grant Scheme to set up a Canalside Volunteer and Learning Hub for canal related activities. We are working towards being an accredited centre offering nationally recognised courses in a variety of health and safety, environmental and heritage areas enabling volunteers with MBACT and other organisations to gain qualifications … Read more

A new footbridge was lowered into place just below Cefn Top Lock 21 next to the Fourteen Locks Canal Centre on Monday 6th November 2023. The bridge is one small part of the work being done by Newport City Council (NCC) as part of its grant of £1.9m in funding from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The grant has been allocated by the Council to tackle the very long-standing … Read more

As a canal Trust we focus our attention and efforts on the restoration of the non-navigable part of the Mon & Brec canal. However, we also work with our partners to ensure that the navigable part of the canal from Brecon to Five Locks is maintained and usable for boaters, other water users, cyclists, and walkers. We have frequent meetings with the owners of the navigable canal, the Canal and … Read more

We have regular meetings with Newport City Council where we are able to support Newport City Council with advice and guidance and they are able to share their projects and work programme on the canal with us. The Council have shared with us that they intend to remove as much weed as possible from the navigation of the canal sometime during the forthcoming Autumn / Winter. They are currently exploring … Read more

We are pleased to report that the slipway at Pontywaun on the Crumlin Arm has been rebuilt by Caerphilly County Borough Council. As we previously reported the slipway had to be removed as part of the work to reline the canal in 2021. We have been discussing with the Council since then to re-instate the slipway to allow canoes, paddleboards, and trail boats to be launched into this section of … Read more

The Cefn Wharf Lock, No 21, at the very top of the Cefn Flight of Fourteen Locks is to be fitted with new lock gates, following Newport City Council’s successful bid for Shared Prosperity Fund grants. Work has recently begun to remove the existing gates (see photo above), so they can be accurately measured to ensure the new gates fit perfectly. A complicating factor is that every lock on the … Read more

MBACT are pleased to report that work has commenced at the Hall’s Road Terrace slipway. We reported previously that contractors appointed by Caerphilly CBC were due start on 17th July. You can find our previous post here : Pontywaun Slipway to be rebuilt The canal needs to be drained at this point to allow the slipway to be built. So far contractors have set up a fenced off work area, … Read more

We have this week written to CRT raising our concerns about the sale of Junction Cottage, Pontymoile. We strongly feel that CRT should consult with the local community before deciding its fate. We also feel that its restoration to re-use should be undertaken by an experienced Conservation Architect and Builder, skilled in traditional construction methods. CRT already has all of the necessary skills available to it and we believe that … Read more

Recent canal re-lining works by Caerphilly County Borough Council at Pontywaun required the removal of a slipway at Hall’s Road Terrace, Pontywaun. The slipway, built by MBACT volunteers in 2001, allowed boats to be launched into the canal and has been used extensively in the past for popular boat rallies. Since its removal, MBACT has been actively involved in discussions with officers at the Council to explore options for its … Read more

We recently shared the news that Newport City Council have allocated £1.9m in funding from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund to tackle problems on the Mon & Brec Canal Crumlin Arm above the Fourteen Locks Centre at Newport. This week our Chair the Revd. John Collier welcomed Julie Sharman from Glandwr Cymru, (the Canal & River Trust (CRT) in Wales) to the canal and Centre at Fourteen Locks. CRT is … Read more