The Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association was formed in 1968 to campaign against the official closure of the Erewash Canal above Tamworth Road Bridge, Long Eaton.
Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill.
In fact, boats continued to use the canal as far as Langley Mill, but the terminus below the road bridge was silted and unattractive. In order to provide a suitable destination for visiting boats, as well as moorings for local boat owners, ECPDA launched a successful appeal for £1,800 in 1972 to start work on excavating the Great Northern Basin of the Nottingham Canal and the lock on the Cromford Canal that gave access to it. Work began on Langley Bridge Lock 14 in 1972 with the repointing of the walls. When British Waterways bulldozed the lock cottage into the chamber in 1963 they inadvertently provided the means to reach the upper layers of brickwork without the use of ladders or scaffolding. Part of the bottom lock gates were visible above the rubble and mud, where they had been dumped and were to prove to be reusable. Beyond the lock the bed of the canal was totally infilled.
Working parties were held almost every weekend through the winter of 1972-73, removing over 4,000 tonnes of spoil, rebuilding the swing bridge across the Nottingham Canal stop lock and restoring Langley Bridge Lock. Today, the length above is a thriving boatyard and moorings. In 2020 FCC received planning approval for restoration through two more locks, passing under the A610 and opening as far as Stoney Lane.