The work: Working north of Resolven Basin, the camp will be upgrading two water overflow points, including excavating the towpath, installing a concrete foundation and building a trough in concrete blockwork. This will be capped with concrete lintels and the towpath locally improved. Further up the canal, the camp will fabricate and install two timber lock tail bridges.

The reason: Being the Welsh valleys, the canal can see a lot of water in high rain! The existing pound above Resolven is relatively long and has no formal overflow capacity. Several drainage pipes were installed previously to help manage the excess flow, but this is insufficient and so new culverts are to be installed with greater capacity.

The timber tail bridges on many of the existing locks have been condemned or removed, and the new bridges will allow access to the offside for maintenance. By working with the Ty Banc Canal Group, the WRG camp will help to train the locals in this crucial activity such that they can undertake a programme of complete replacement along the canal.

The restoration: The Neath Canal ran for 13 miles and 19 locks and was primarily used to transport materials from the valleys to the docks in Neath and Swansea (the latter via the separate Tennant Canal). The Ty Banc Canal Group is working to promote community engagement and activity on the canal, and the camp will be arriving as their festival takes place at Resolven Basin. In the long-term, the target is for both the Neath and Tennant Canals to be fully restored, and possibly to link them to the Swansea Canal and create a small network of waterways in this area of South Wales.