With the end of the lockdown in sight BCS is preparing to resume business as usual. A final task, prior to the opening of the canal system for leisure use , was an opportunity to start their lock painting schedule early. A warm, dry spell at the end of March created the necessary conditions . Painting three of the six locks each year means the locks are painted every two years. To keep the locks looking reasonable until they are repainted BCS has decided, in the intervening year, to paint only the tops of the beams. This is where the paintwork takes the most punishment from the weather and users. Taking advantage of the lack of boat traffic this was achieved quite easily as was shown during an adhoc task party when a crew of 4 completed this task on locks 1,2 & 3.
For the first BCS scheduled task party of 2021 a crew of 11 painted lock 4. The weather was kind to them and, with only a few boats passing through, the lock was painted in record time.