Editing Preston, Lancashire (section)

===Water===
====River Ribble====
{{main|River Ribble}}
[[File:Preston Riversway Docks.jpg|thumb|The [[River Ribble]], with the dock entrance to the left]]
The River Ribble has a length of approximately {{convert|75|mi|km}}, originating near the [[Ribblehead Viaduct]] in [[North Yorkshire]], flowing westward and passing through Preston and entering the [[Irish Sea]] at the [[Ribble and Alt Estuaries]] near [[Lytham]], approximately {{convert|11.5|mi|km}} to the west of the city.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=The River Ribble and Its Tributaries |url=https://ribbletrust.org.uk/our-rivers/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=Ribble Rivers Trust |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The Ribble has played an important role in the history of Preston. Archaeological evidence confirms human settlement along its banks going back to [[Neolithic]] times, as well as the [[Saxon]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] eras. The river was already a trading port by [[medieval]] times, increasing in use and importance in conjunction with the industrialisation of Preston, until the closure of the Port of Preston in 1981.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The river suffers from an on-going issue of [[sedimentation]], and was regularly [[Dredging|dredged]] downstream of Preston while the city had an active port. Since dredging operations ceased, [[silt]] from the river is now spreading more widely over the beaches of its estuary.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welsby |first=J. |last2=Motyka |first2=J. M. |date=April 1989 |title=A Macro Review of the Coastline of England and Wales Volume 8. The North West. The Great Orme to the Solway Firth. |url=https://eprints.hrwallingford.com/241/1/SR207.pdf |website=Hydraulics Research Wallingford |format=PDF |edition=Report SR 207}}</ref>

====Preston Dock====
{{main|Preston Dock}}
Preston Dock was a former [[Dock (maritime)|maritime dock]] located on the northern bank of the River Ribble approximately {{convert|1.6|mi|km|abbr=on}} west of the city centre. It was the location of the Port of Preston at the Albert Edward Basin which opened in 1892 and is connected to the river by a series of [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]]. The dock provided a [[port]] for shipping and ferry operations until its closure in 1981.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Records show that Preston was already a trading port by the 12th century and from around the mid-14th century ships would come up the river to unload and shelter in a natural basin known in its time as 'Preston Anchorage', where the Moor Brook joined the Ribble. In 1806 the Ribble Navigation Company was formed, and construction of the New Quays wharf (later renamed Victoria Quay) commenced a few years later further downstream along the section of the river where Marsh Lane joined Strand Road.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Sedimentation and the shallowness of the Ribble limited access to Victoria Quay to when the tide was high, and it was proposed that the river be diverted and an artificial tidal basin created whose water level could be controlled to allow 24-hour loading and unloading operations. In 1884 diversion of the Ribble began along with and the excavation of the what was to be the Albert Edward Basin along its northern bank, and in June 1892 the new Preston Dock was opened. However, the on-going issue of sedimentation required constant dredging of the Ribble and along with loss of trade to large ports around the country, the docks never returned a profit, leading to their closure in October 1981.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Redevelopment of the former docks began in 1985 and continued through to 1992. Renamed ''Riversway'', the first of the new retail and industrial estates, along with new roads, were opened in July 1987. Development of residential housing commenced in 1989, with the new estate along the basin's southern shore named Victoria Quay after the earlier docks.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

These days, the Albert Edward basin is used only for leisure activities, is home to many waterbirds. A public marina is located on its northwestern end, and access to and from the River Ribble is provided through the basin's original locks, operated by the Preston City Council; operating times are seasonal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://prestonmarina.co.uk/index.php/lock-gates/ |title=Lock Gate Opening Times |publisher=Preston Marina |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

====Lancaster Canal====
{{main|Lancaster Canal}}
[[File:Narrowboat_Lancaster_Canal_Preston_20180806.jpg|thumb|A [[narrowboat]] on the [[Lancaster Canal]] at [[Ashton-on-Ribble]]]]
The [[Lancaster Canal]] runs from Preston to [[Kendal]] in [[Cumbria]]. It was originally planned to join the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] at [[Westhoughton]] and while the section north to near [[Chorley]] was built, the section south from Preston was never built. Instead, a "temporary" bridge – which still stands today – was constructed over the Ribble near Avenham Park, and a tramway operated from 1803 to [[Walton Summit]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

From 1820 [[packet boat]]s carried passengers between Preston and Kendal, providing faster journeys than the stagecoaches of the day, and by 1833 travel time had been reduced to seven hours. From the 1930s leakage problems caused sections of the canal, now owned by the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway|LMS Railway]], around Kendal to be closed to public traffic. However, the canal remained navigable to coal traffic from Preston to the Kendal Gas Works until 1944, but in 1955 the whole canal was closed to all traffic by an Act of Parliament. Subsequently, sections of the canal were filled in, later to be re-opened as interest in the canal returned, and currently, {{convert|42|mi|km|1}} of the canal from Preston to [[Tewitfield]] near [[Carnforth]] is open to navigation.<ref name=BP_PLC>{{cite web |url=https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2021/08/prestons-lost-canal-drunk-on-the-packet-boats/ |title=Preston's lost canal, drunk on the packet boats |publisher=Blog Preston |author=Geoffrey Whittaker |date=1 August 2020 |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

At Preston the canal originally terminated at a large boat basin located in the city centre between Marsh Lane and the A59 Ring Road, on the western side of Corporation Street. An aqueduct carried the canal from its current terminus on the northern side of Aqueduct Street in at [[Ashton-on-Ribble]], past the former [[Maudlands railway station]], paralleling the eastern side of the railway to the basin, where railway tracks, long since removed, provided access originally to Victoria Quay and later to the new Preston Dock. Following the [[Second World War]], as many industries around Preston closed, this section of the canal became derelict and in the 1960s it was filled in and a new terminus with mooring facilities built at Ashton. The land through which the canal ran is now the campus of the University of Central Lancashire, with the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre located over the former boat slip, and the site of the boat basin now a small retail mall with an [[Aldi]] supermarket.<ref name=BP_PLC/>

Originally the canal was isolated from the River Ribble, but this changed in 2002 with the opening of the [[Ribble Link]].

====Ribble Link====
{{main|Ribble Link}}
Opened in July 2002, the Ribble Link is a navigation [[waterway]] built along a section of the [[Savick Brook]] that connects the previously isolated Lancaster Canal to the River Ribble. Featuring a series of [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]], the Link allows narrowboats and other small watercraft to transit between the two waterways.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The Link is approximately {{convert|4|mi|km}} in length, starting from the Lancaster Canal near [[Ingol]] and entering the Ribble (as the Savick Brook) south of [[Lea, Lancashire|Lea Gate]]. There are eight (8) locks in total, permitting boats up to {{convert|62|ft|m}} length and {{convert|10|ft|6|in|m}} in width to navigate its course.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Unlike a canal, vessels are not free to travel in either direction at any time. Traffic flow is controlled so that the Link can only be navigated in a specific direction on alternate days. The Link is only open for approximately 90 days between April and October, and is used by approximately 200 boats a year.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The Link is operated by the [[Canal & River Trust]] and requires annual dredging to remain navigable.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

====Proposed developments====
In 2006 the Preston City Council, in conjunction with the [[South Ribble Borough Council]], proposed a major development estimated at £800 million to redevelop the city's docks and large sections of the River Ribble. Known as ''Riverworks'', the plan proposed new leisure facilities (watersports), landmark buildings, a new central park opposite [[Avenham Park]], office and retail space, new residential developments and the re-opening of some of Preston's old canal with new facilities for a "park and boat ride" scheme. The proposal met with considerable resistance from the local community (with 74% of residents objecting) and leisure and environmental groups due to the potential loss of green space, impact upon ecosystems (especially fish populations) and increased risk of flooding resulted in protests and campaigns being organised to have the project cancelled.<ref>{{cite web| title=Flood plain housing plan slammed| work=Lancashire Evening Post, 30 June 2007| url=http://www.lep.co.uk/news?articleid=2995255| access-date=1 July 2007| archive-date=9 January 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109144945/https://www.lep.co.uk/news| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/757438.river-plan-protest-walk/ |title=River Plan Protest Walk |publisher=Lancashire Telegraph |author=Emma Mayoh |date=11 May 2006 |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

In December 2007 the Preston City Council pulled out of a major part of the Riversworks plan, the highly contentious [[barrage (dam)|Ribble Barrage]], and stated the revised plan would only look at improving Preston Docklands (in particular, the on-going blue green algae problem) and extending the Lancaster Canal from its current terminus at [[Ashton-on-Ribble|Ashton]] into the city at the back of the University of Central Lancashire (near the site of the former boat basin which was filled in prior to the construction of the current campus).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1880448.council-pulls-out-of-ribble-barrage-plan/ |title=Council Pulls Out of Ribble Barrage Plan |publisher=Lancashire Telegraph |author=Andrew Greaves |date=4 December 2007 |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

A subsequent change in council's ''Sustainable Community Strategy'', especially in regards to ''Environmental'', ''Health and Well-being'' and  ''People and Communities'' policies and targets, resulted in a ban on development on green belt land, and along with city's new Local Plan, the remaining (re)development proposals within the Riverworks plan were abandoned.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/council/meetings/displayFile.asp?FTYPE=D&FILEID=25856 |title=Preston Community Strategy 2009–2012 |publisher=Preston Strategic Partnership |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020081128/http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/council/meetings/displayFile.asp?FTYPE=D&FILEID=25856 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.preston.gov.uk/media/1952/Preston-s-Local-Plan/pdf/Preston-Local-Plan-2012-2026-_(8).pdf?m=637056240884300000 |title=Preston Local Plan 2012–2026 |publisher=Preston City Council |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>