Here's when major repairs at Toddbrook Reservoir will finally be completed

The previous auxiliary spillway on the dam wall was damaged in the summer of 2019 after excessive rainfall and there were fears the dam could collapse. Since then work has been ongoing to repair the site and the reservoir has been kept virtually empty.

The Canal and River Trust, which owns and maintains the reservoir, said: “Work is well under way to create a new side weir, tumble bay and spillway channel.

“On the site of the old playground, foundations are being laid to construct a new bridge over the channel just before it enters the River Goyt.”

The stilling basin staircase and two round turrets, whose job is to slow down the water flow, are now clearly visible and nearly finished.

Ultimately, they will be partially buried as part of the final landscaping works.

Later this spring, when the overflow spillway structure is sufficiently advanced, the work will be inspected by a government-approved specialist reservoir engineer before a new opening in the dam is made to enable completion of the spillway structure.

The damaged 1970s concrete panelling will then be removed, the dam slope repaired over the summer and then grassed over.

The Canal and River Trust spokesperson said: “Toddbrook Reservoir will be allowed to re-fill naturally over winter 2025 and into spring 2026 after the dam spillway and weir construction project is completed.

“The effectiveness of the reservoir will be thoroughly tested to ensure the integrity of the new structure, as levels are held at eight different heights during a monitored re-filling process.”

The aim is to have the reservoir fully restored as a water supply to the Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals, and as a community resource for sailing, angling and swimming by summer 2026.

Planning permission is in place to build a new sailing club on the edge of the reservoir by the newly constructed side weir.

The trust has also been asked to look at potentially re-purposing the former reservoir keeper’s lodge as an alternative club house and all options they say are currently being explored.

A small construction site office has been on the edge of the Whaley Bridge Athletic Football Club field for nearly six years to manage the high-volume pumps which are still connected to the reservoir to manage water levels until the dam is repaired.

The trust says as soon as it’s safe, these will be removed, the construction compound reduced and the football field returned to its original size.

The trust said that artwork decorating the two concrete turrets on the Memorial Park and Playground will be added at the end of the construction project in early spring 2026.

They said: “We are expecting our contractor Kier to remove their site cabins from the edge of the Memorial Park in late spring/early summer 2026.

“The parkland will then be re-landscaped, and new stone walls and playground equipment installed.” County Councillor Ruth George, for Whaley Bridge added: “It’s taking far longer than anyone hoped but at least the end is coming into sight.

“We will have our lovely park and reservoir back. And - crucially - Whaley will be safe.”