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Weaver News Nov 2010.P65 the River Weaver Navigation Society Weaver News December 2010 Editors comments I am pleased to tell you that we have some new contributors in this issue, and some new subjects as well. To them my thanks, this society is supposed to be there for all lovers of the River Weaver, and it is really good to be able to widen the scope of the ‘NEWS’. Chairman’s Report I think we should all take pleasure in noting that Riversdale Bridge was re-opened on 3rd.December 2010, after a six year period of closure. The cutting of the ribbon Nov 2010 Page 1 Weaver News, the magazine of We must hope that its original high level of pedestrian and cycle usage is rapidly restored, as it was used by generations of Northwich residents as a short-cut between Castle and Leftwich, with particular emphasis on quick pedestrian access for students of Sir John Dean’s college. New movement patterns have been established since its closure, often involving vehicular activity through the town, and now is the ideal opportunity to try and restore the original pedestrian activity that existed before. Surely, with petrol at £5.50 a gallon and rising, (with the impending VAT increase), this is in itself a very powerful persuader!! But, in particular, why should we congratulate ourselves as a Society? Firstly, because we campaigned hard to collect sufficient votes to ensure that the Sustrans funding that was available was allocated to our project and not elsewhere, and in that we were successful. Without this funding it is unlikely that the bridge would have been restored at all. We must also take pleasure in the fact that the inclusion of this New Sustrans route in their publicity and literature will generate more green tourist activity in the Weaver Valley, with benefits to local trade. Secondly, our Editor, Colin, was able to provide accurate historic information on the previous bridge and advise on traditional designs to the bridge consultants, which, we are sure, has had an influence on what, I am confident you will agree, is a very pleasing design. Thirdly, and this is most significant, we were responsible for persuading British Waterways and Cheshire West and Cheshire to commission a bridge design that allows navigation under the new bridge for canal sized craft without the need to open it. This was not possible with the old bridge. Consequently, previously, though the backwater was navigable, no craft used it except those needing access to the dry dock at the end of the arm, which meant swinging the old bridge, (an expensive and time consuming operation), requiring considerable prior notice. This backwater gives moorings access to both Weaver Hall, (the old Salt Museum) and the Bowling Green public house, one of the most interesting of historic local hostelries. This new access is essential for our Heritage Lottery bid to stand any chance of success, and I think we can congratulate ourselves as a Society that our forethought has Page 2 Nov 2010 the River Weaver Navigation Society achieved this improvement and given easy access to a previously defunct arm in a significant location. This activity raises a point regarding our future, which is much on the minds of our committee. It is essential, if we wish to remain influential, that we retain and increase our membership, but are we doing what our members want? Our campaigning and discussions with other influential organisations we regard as paramount and take up much time, but we have had no social activities of late. There are several local organisations providing talks on subjects we might choose, e.g. Northwich Heritage Society, Trent & Mersey Canal society, Friends of Weaver Hall, to name but a few just in the Northwich area alone. However, these activities, in which we can possibly share, do little to assist in creating a Society ambiance and this is necessary if we wish to grow and achieve more. Please let us have your opinions on the way you would like to see our Society develop, as this really matters! Talk to me or any committee member you know if you want to express an opinion. To close, I must state that we are proud of what we are trying to achieve and now is perhaps the time to mention some of our ventures. We are talking to interested parties to try and promote a water rally in and around Northwich Basin in May/June 2012. Perhaps you remember the fabulous National Rally in Northwich in 1979? British Waterways are kindly including us in their discussions on the redevelopment of Northwich Town Basin, which we hope will be beneficial to all as we try to ascertain, respond and develop local opinion. As previously mentioned, we are making a considerable contribution to the Cheshire West and Chester bid for lottery money for, “Saltscape,” which could revitalize the Weaver Valley, if successful. British Waterways, as most of you already know, changes its structure shortly, and will become more dependent on Volunteer labour. They are naturally seeking volunteers on their own behalf, but we certainly hope to Nov 2010 Page 3 Weaver News, the magazine of support them with further effort from our membership. We attended a promotional Sunday held at Anderton Boat Lift recently. We made some useful contacts and we hope it produced some volunteers for BW as well Discussion is ongoing, At David Roberts instigation we recently had discussions with NPL Estates to try and reroute a temporary brine pipeline to benefit BW, with probable reduced costs for NPL as well, Unfortunately planning applications were already too far progressed for re-routing to be considered, but we believe that the contacts we made will be beneficial when further development plans are submitted. NPL Estates are considerable landowners in the Weaver Valley and I know they appreciate that our local knowledge and ideas could be beneficial to their future plans There are several other ventures in the embryonic phase which may not develop further, but watch this space, you will hear of them if they do Enough, enough, my laptop is protesting, and I realise that our national year end festivities are fast approaching and Society Journals are likely to remain unread. I must wish all our members a Happy New Year and may it also be a successful one. Riversdale Bridge The following press release was despatched to all interested parties that occurred to us on Friday 3rd. December, with a short covering e-mail sent by our Chairman and a selection of photographs taken by our Editor:- The re-opening of Riversdale Bridge on 3rd. December 2010, even after interminable delays, is a source of great satisfaction to us. The original bridge was built in about 6 weeks in 1888 , on the instructions of the Weaver Trustees at Navigation Yard. I was rebuilt in about 1930, but obviously had deteriorated to such an extent that it was overdue for replacement when it was closed in 2004. The new bridge is slightly wider than the one it replaces, enabling Page 4 Nov 2010 the River Weaver Navigation Society wheelchairs and bicycles to pass on the bridge and it is also power operated, by means of a detachable control, whereas its predecessor was operated by hand, as are all other bridges of this size on the river. The Chairman of the River Weaver Navigation Society, John Tackley, said, “We are delighted that this bridge is finally restored, Our members campaigned long and hard to help raise funds, by actively supporting and campaigning for a grant from Sustrans to assist with its restoration. In this we were helped by votes collected from the local population We also offered technical advice to the bridge consultants, which was taken on board. Apart from the immediate benefits of better pedestrian access to Sir John Deane’s school and other local properties, with a consequent reduction in road traffic, our Society has achieved benefits to the river which will be of undoubted future benefit to the town. The new bridge offers an increase in navigational headroom of approximately 600mm., which will enable canal craft to pass beneath it without opening the swinging span. This means that an extra quarter of a mile of waterway will be available for visitors to use as town centre moorings and give craft, including trip boats, access to both Weaver Hall Museum and the Bowling Green public house, both of which properties have garden access to this newly accessible backwater, and need better patronage. It is pleasant to see that a third sector organisation like ours, working in conjunction with Cheshire West and Chester Council and British Waterways, can actually achieve real long term benefits to Northwich, despite the financial constraints that make the revitalisation of the town, so long awaited, currently so difficult.” The brief ceremony took place at 10.00 am on a very cold morning. The bridge was not swung, (surely an opportunity missed?) and there were no speeches. Nov 2010 Page 5 Weaver News, the magazine of The new bridge and the old, Colin Edmondson The bridge was declared unsafe and closed in 2004, and shortly after it was swung open for the last time the nose end simply fell off, proving that closure had taken place only just in time. Page 6 Nov 2010 the River Weaver Navigation Society Taken from the same spot as the first photo, it can be clearly seen that the design of the bridge has taken its influence from the earlier bridge, but on a much larger scale. It now meets all the requirements of a multi-user right of way.
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