Oxford canal bridges to get £650,000 face lift

Wear and tear on the bridges, bad weather conditions and occasional incorrect usage, can result in the lift mechanism malfunction

Four grade II-listed bridges will be getting a £650,000 cash injection to revamp the historic structures.

The Canal & River Trust along with the People's Postcode Lottery, will upgrade Oxford Canal's wooden lift bridges.

The bridges currently use a simple counterbalance system which will be upgraded.

Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust director for London & South East, said they are a "defining feature of the Oxford Canal".

"I'm delighted that our charity is able to make them fit for the 21st century in a way which makes them safer to operate and more durable while retaining their unique look and heritage value," he added.

Work on Chisnell lift bridge (no.193) has been funded by "support from players of People's Postcode Lottery", which has donated over £16 million so far to "a range of important waterway and wellbeing projects".

Installations at the other bridges, Shipton (no.219), Wolvercote (no.233) and Perry's (no.234), are being funded by the trust.

A part of the Oxfordshire landscape for nearly 250 years, the wooden lift bridges were built to allow farmers and residents to cross the newly dug waterway.

The canal officially opened on 1 January 1790, carrying coal from the West Midlands to Oxford and London, and was a commercial success for almost half a century until the arrival of the railway.

The trust has been granted Listed Building Consent for the installation of manual hydraulic winding mechanisms which will enable safer navigational passage for boaters and access across the canal for pedestrians and vehicles.

It is hoped that the work will "enhance the longevity of the structure and preserve the special heritage interest" of the bridges.