 The costs of construction overran, and were quoted as £22,801 (),in a report to the Derbyshire Justices, made at the start of 1797.The excess over the £19,500 authorised by the Act of Parliament was managed by further calls on the shareholders, and debts were repaid out of the initial receipts.Traffic on the canal was never particularly heavy, for even in October 1821, when the canal was most prosperous, there were only about nine laden boats per day using it.