Listed lock

Posted on this lock beam on the Northampton Arm of the GU was this application for listed building consent. Not to rebuild the lock or the adjacent bridge but rather to paint the word 'cill' on the lock sides.
This is to warn boaters to keep away from the cill when descending a lock in case the stern catches on it while the rest of the boat drops with potentially disastrous results. And it's now been painted on virtually every lock in the country.
Every year a handful of boats do get caught on the cill but it's questionable how valuable this reminder notice will be - most accidents happen when the crew is busy chatting with each other (or boozing!).
What isn't questionable is how much it must have cost BW - applying for listed building consent is time consuming and not cheap. Multiply that by literally hundreds of locks....