Canal dry dock 'facing closure' after 250 years

Tooley's Boatyard said it had lost 80% of its business since the canal closure

Dry and warm weather over the past few months may lead to the closure of what is thought to be the UK canal system's oldest continuously working dry dock, its managing director has said.

Tooley's Boatyard, on the Oxford Canal, in Banbury, which first opened in 1778, may be forced to shut after losing 80% of its business.

The stretch of water the boatyard sits on was shut during August by the Canal and River Trust.

Matthew Armitage, Tooley's managing director, said he was "very, very concerned about the future of the company" because of the "lack of work".

The Canal and River Trust said the closure was due to what it called "unprecedented" conditions.

Mr Armitage said: "The lack of water has meant the locks have closed either side of us, and this has meant that the boats cannot get to our business.

"Because we are a dry dock the boats have to travel to us to get the work done, so its a bit like taking your car to the garage, but they can't get there because the roads are all closed."

Tooley's dates back to the 18th Century

The Met Office confirmed on Monday that summer 2025 had officially been the the UK's hottest on record.

It also said that central, eastern and southern parts of England had been exceptionally dry, following what was the country's driest spring in more than 50 years.

Dale Canfield, from the Canal and River Trust, told the BBC: "I've not experienced a summer this dry whilst I've been on the canal."

To ease the effect on inland waterways, Mr Canfield explained that parts had been closed "to ensure that other sections can stay open".

"We're working around the clock to try and keep boats floating, rather than having no water in the canal at all," he added.

Dale Canfield is from the Canal and River Trust

One section that is currently closed is the Claydon to Aynho stretch of the Oxford Canal, in which Tooley's sits.

"We've been told that there wont be an update until the end of September, and I am very concerned about weathering this," Mr Armitage said.

He added that, alongside the weather, there was a "maintenance issue" caused by a "lack of funding" for the Canal and River Trust.

"This summer is a sign that the canals are not being a look after," he said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which partly funds the Canal and River Trust, said: "Our canals provide a wide range of benefits, such as connecting people to nature.

"That is why we are investing more than £480m of grant funding to the Canal and River Trust between now and 2037 to support the essential infrastructure maintenance of our much-valued waterways."