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The Magazine of the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Issue No. 85 - Autumn 2015 Bower Queen Ellie Wheeler and her deputy Tegan Grist, winners of the Lichfield Mercury Bower Queen competition 2015, assisted by Peter Buck, Engineering Director of the Trust, aboard the Bower Belle open the 2015 Huddlesford Heritage Gathering (photo by Paul Marshall) ay Wha eeth rf L tr Lichfield td S Heart of the Coventry Canal . TEL:01543 414808 MOBILE:0782 4848444 FAX:01543 414770 www.streethaywharf.co.uk 7-DAY CALL OUT SERVICE GEN SETS FITTED DIESEL AND SOLID FUEL STOVES FITTED BOTTOM BLACKING REPAINTING AND SIGNWRITING NEW BOATS FULL & PART FIT-OUT SUPPLIED ALL MECHANICAL / ELECTRICAL WORK FULL CHANDLERY STRETCHING AND REBOTTOMING GAS SAFE. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ALL STEEL WORK AND TANKS Support the boat yard on the “Lichfield Ring” Boat Transport, England, Europe Cranage Arranged Site Surveys Complete Service for DIY Repairs Boat Hire Boat Fitting Diesel Pump Out Mooring Boat Sales Laundry Trent & Mersey Canal V.A.T No. 133609427 Chairman’s Column When the Trust was founded in the late 1980s (its origins actually go back further) it was carried forward on a wave of enthusiasm from boaters, IWA members and local ay Wha people who remembered fondly how the BCN and its adjacent waterways had been eth rf in its fading days after World War 2. A series of canal festivals on Pelsall Common re L was an outstanding success and there was clearly a need to build on the enthusiasm. t td It fell largely to IWA members, and other local canal societies, to put something in S place. Someday, this story should be told in detail and the name of those pioneers . properly recorded and commemorated. In the words of the hymn “Time like and ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away” and we can so easily forget the great works of those who have gone before. We may also forget, or accidentally fudge, the aims and intentions of the founders. We sometimes revisit the rather cumbersome name we gave our Trust and wonder if it can, or should be, simplified. The result is always the same and we remain The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. Most restoration organisations limit themselves to a single project but at L&H we saw the restoration of two canals as a single entity. We set out to restore the northern links into the BCN which had been lost in the middle of the 20th Century. We failed to recognise just how demanding this would become. We failed to see just how different our two canals actually are. We also did not recognise in those early stages how difficult it is to plan restorations and how much “opportunity” has to take priority over logical progress. The building of the aqueduct over M6 Toll emphasises the point perfectly. If you read through the pages of Cut Both Ways for most of the last ten years you might conclude that we have concentrated on the Lichfield Canal to the exclusion of the Hatherton. (We recognise, of course that neither of these names is strictly and historically accurate.) It is hard to deny that The Lichfield project has burgeoned while the Hatherton appears to have languished. There are several reasons for this, hopefully all valid. The Lichfield has frequently been “under threat” and emergency action has been essential to safeguard it – most recently HS2 at Huddlesford. Earlier the M6 Toll Motorway seemed poised to wipe out the northern connection to the BCN. Bypass schemes around Lichfield, housing developments have remained an ever-present threat. All have been, and are, expensive and time consuming in the solution. The bulk of our active members live in Lichfield and inevitably are drawn to their local project. The opportunities for work projects such as at Tamworth Road and Summerhill have come readily to hand and we have embraced them with enthusiasm The Hatherton has a very different nature with its own challenges. However, we have been able to let it slumber as it has rarely come under threat. The exception was when M6Toll threatened to block the route at Churchbridge. This threat was overcome but without the Razzmatazz of the installation of the aqueduct. As part of the same remedial package two enlarged culverts were built as part of the motorway programme and stand ready for use in the future. Other complications at Churchbridge have been dealt with but many challenges remain. Cut Both Ways Autumn 2015 3 Chairman’s Column Currently, we are in discussion with Network Rail to ensure we can make a crossing under the Chase Line railway. Of course, the major obstacle has always been the M6 at Calf Heath and the need to get under “the Straight Mile”. Our hopes that major motorway reconstruction would provide the proverbial window of opportunity have been disappointed but we continue to monitor any proposals very closely. The result is that getting the boats back to Cannock is more likely to be achieved from the Pelsall end than from Calf Heath. Land ownership is so often the key to waterways restoration as little can be done unless the Trust has full access to the “track”. Canal and River Trust owns the section from the old A460 at Cannock to the junction with the Staffs and Worcester Canal at Calf Heath. It is an essential part of their water supply system, This give us the reassurance that this section will be maintained and kept in safe hands into the foreseeable future. This was the stretch where our volunteers carried out the first practical work on either waterway. The section between Catch Bridge and the “Roman Way” was cleaned out and, with the help of WRG, a redundant bridge was removed. Our work parties can still be found in this area. There is a surprising long list of actions taken by the Trust to see that the Hatherton is not forgotten. Portions of land have been purchased for future use, the local authorities have been made aware of the project and we have ensured that builders have left sufficient land free to get the canal through some very difficult areas. East of Churchbridge the route of the restored canal will deviate substantially from the original and so the Trust bought a considerable section of land using a European grant. A feasibility study was commissioned to chart this new route which will rejoin the main system west of Pelsall. All of this constitutes a whole series of major engineering and funding challenges. Of course, there will be all the usual challenges to be met and much time has already been taken in dealing with water quality and supply issues. Thus we remain a “two canals project”. Both are equally important to us but prioritisation will always be a challenge. Perhaps we should be raising the profile of the Hatherton scheme and draw in more public support. It is likely that few people living in the Cannock area even realise that a canal exists let alone a scheme to restore it. There are dangers in such publicity as we may raise expectations far above a realistic level. However, although the generations change there is still enthusiasm among the enthusiasts, as there was a quarter of a century ago, to get things moving and to get things done. The Hatherton is still very much part of the L&H family. Brian Kingshott(chairman) Back Copies of Cut Both Ways available at £1.00 Each Copies of issues 1 to 84 are available from Bob Williams Norfolk House, 29 Hall Lane, Hammerwich, WS7 0JP Cheques made payable to LHCRT Ltd. Cut Both Ways Autumn 2015 4 The Autumn Show Cut Both Ways Autumn 2015 5 Donations to the Trust We gratefully acknowledge the following donations for amounts over £20 from 1st July to 30th September 2015. Suchet, Trust & Restoration Feet of Clay Name ( in order of receipt ) Marketing and Land Fund Appeals Mr H J Y Pringle (with sub.) 105.00 Mr H Eyles; Ramblers Lichfield walk 51.35 Mr W H Cole (with sub.) 24.00 Manchester Locks assisted passage 50.00 Mr R T Willis (private talk fee) 35.00 Mr & Mrs J A Potter 25.00 anonymous 150.00 Mr S S M Field (with sub.) 40.00 Mr I Campbell (with sub.) 85.00 Mr J I R Horton 24.00 Mr P Adds 20.00 100.00 20.00 Russell Newbery Register Ltd 266.50 Jaguar Land Rover Group 250.00 (volunteers’ equipment support) “Easyfundraising” 59.39 Mr M J Baldry (with sub.) 50.00 Mr M J Ferguson (with sub.) 24.00 Mr D W Gittins (with sub.) 50.00 Mr R N Hodgson (with sub.) 30.00 Mr R W Lloyd-Hart (with sub.) 24.00 Mrs J G Shephard (with sub.) 25.00 Mrs K A Bird (with sub.) 24.00 Mr J W Farren 50.00 Mr C Gibson 118.75 Mr I D Bateson (with sub.) 85.00 Mr J Lamming (with sub.) 35.00 Cross Keys, Penkridge, coin collection 35.15 Staffs & Worcs Canal Society (talk) 40.00 Cut Both Ways Autumn 2015 6 Donations to the Trust We gratefully acknowledge the following donations for amounts over £20 from 1st July to 30th September 2015. Suchet, Trust & Restoration Feet of Clay Name ( in order of receipt ) Marketing and Land Fund Appeals Rev. A J G Cooper 25.00 anonymous 4,166.67 Mr M Cripps (with sub.) 35.00 Mr J Denton (with sub.) 24.00 Mr R E Gibson (with sub.) 44.00 Lichfield Greenhill Bower 120.00 share of coin collection at June event 162.00 Mr & Mrs D Gray 90.00 Lichfield Running Club, 10k Run, 250.00 manning Darnford Lane water station Mr David Stanistreet 120.00 Mr J Moody (returned property rent) 300.00 Mr R O Williams (returned expenses) 45.90 Regular donors to appeals and 1208.96 660.00 357.00 aggregated amounts up to £20.00.

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