West Midlands Annual Report 2020/21 canalrivertrust.org.uk Introduction A year in numbers Introduction from Regional Director & Regional to maintain, protect and develop the Advisory Board Chair £20m total spend West Midlands canal network in 2020/21 Delivered With a further miles Whilst Covid has dramatically changed all our lives and £2.6m £1.2m +35 – 41% 559 of externally delivered More people have used our of canals made life extremely difficult for so many, over this time, funded projects by other towpaths this year, with a 41% our canals have been discovered by many more people organisations, increase in users at Sandwell, and and £4m benefitting 35% increase at Walsall. Footfall and miles as a place for nature, exercise and wellbeing. secured for the network has also increased in Coventry 6 8 3 future years and Wolverhampton of towpaths Last October, we reached an During this time, we have Alongside the physical works, important milestone, when continued to work with our we are working closely with the Revolution Walk – along the partners across the region to Organising Committee’s Physical Birmingham Mainline Canal from make important improvements to Activity & Wellbeing programme, the centre of Birmingham to our waterways. We’ve spent over looking at leaving a legacy of £4.1m 26 900+ Chance Glassworks in Sandwell £20million on management and engagement on our waterways. priority works – received the Green Flag maintenance across the network, reservoirs access points For both the Coventry UK City of programme delivered Award. We have since submitted and we’ve worked with thousands to our canals Culture 2021 and the Birmingham Green Flag applications for the of volunteers wanting to make 2022 Commonwealth Games, Coventry Canal (from Coventry a difference to their local canal we look forward to continuing to Basin to Hawkesbury Junction), environment. Despite restrictions, work with our very wide range of and Stoke-on-Trent. A further over 75,000 hours of volunteer partners to bring more people to five sites are in the pipeline. time was given to our region. the waterways. We are all working Dozens Delivering £6m £600,000 As we came out of lockdown, and Although the pandemic delayed to deliver an exciting and varied of projects bringing new activity to of canal infrastructure works secured from Severn Trent to the canals re-opened for boating, the start of the Coventry UK canal based programme of events, our network and introducing more in time for Birmingham 2022 tackle invasive plant species we helped waterways businesses City of Culture 2021 until May, from theatre and art, to sport and people to waterway wellbeing Commonwealth Games across our network to interpret new guidelines on our towpath improvement works festivals. Something for everyone. operating safely. It was wonderful in the area were completed on to see boats moving on our time, and event planning and network again, bringing back their community engagement work colour and vibrancy. continues. We are extremely excited about the opportunity this Lockdown presented us with event is providing to bring more Over 1,700 £1.4m Record many new challenges, including people to the canal in Coventry. species of flowering plants of towpath improvements on managing the needs of all users of Adnan Saif recorded in Birmingham & the the Coventry Canal ahead of our network under unprecedented The spotlight remains on our Regional Director numbers Black Country, with our canals Coventry UK City of Culture circumstances. Sadly, it also region as we continue to prepare holding and connecting many 2021 celebrations of boat movements, towpath visits brought more litter, fly tipping for the Birmingham 2022 species across the landscape and customer service enquiries and anti-social behaviour to our Commonwealth Games. Our waterways in a limited number £6million infrastructure works, John Hudson OBE of urban locations. We continue mostly through partner grant Chair – Regional to work with our volunteers funding, are already well underway, Advisory Board and local authority partners to improving our network in time to overcome these challenges. welcome the tens of thousands of extra visitors expected. 7,386 boats 250 years 75,000+ use West Midlands canals since the Droitwich Canal hours of time given over each year first opened by Volunteers 2 Canal & River Trust West Midlands Annual Report 2020/21 3 Region-wide Region-wide Region-wide Three sections of towpath Macclesfield Birmingham & Solihull Coventry & Warwickshire Middlewich lock resurfaced as part of the Leek Chester Kidsgrove Revolution Walk awarded Warwickshire County Council Transforming the Trent Harecastle Leek Tunnel lock flight Valley enterprise project Tunnel Green Flag status resolved to work with the Canal 5 Caldon Canal Macclesfield tunnel Westport Stockton Middlewich lock & River Trust to actively promote Consall Forge Leek Lake Brook Locks Chester Kidsgrove Canal & River Trust office Corporate partnership secured Wildlife cameras installed at Llangollen Harecastle Leek Tunnel lock flight their local canal network and Belvide Reservoir SSSI to help Froghall Tunnel Tunnel places to visit with the Aston Villa Foundation, Stoke Flight 5 5 tunnel its opportunities for leisure, Llangollen Canal Stoke-on-Trent Westport Caldon Canal record species present in the area Stockton Consall Forge adopting a stretch of Tame Lake Brook Locksrailway station wellbeing and employment 6 Canal & River Trust office Llangollen Valley Canal in Perry Barr Whitchurch 5 Adderley Locks cared forFroghall by CanalTunnel & River Trust 2,000 people took part in a Stoke Flight 5 places to visit £1.4m towpath and access Ellesmere & Grindley Llangollen Canal Macclesfield Stoke-on-Trent free Halloween Pumpkin Trail M6 Meaford Flight unnavigable / under restoration Port Loop development at Brook 4 Middlewich lock railway station improvements on the Coventry StoneChester Flight Leek Chirk Aqueduct 6 Kidsgrove Ladywood continues to improve and Festive Trail events at 4 Stone Harecastle Leek Tunnel other water bodies lock flight Canal from Bridge 4 to the Ellesmere Market 5 Tyrley Locks Whitchurch 5 Adderley Locks cared for by Canal & River Trust Prees Tunnel Shardlow Fradley Pool Nature Reserve Tunnel Drayton & Grindley 5 Caldon Canal tunnel access to the canalside Ellesmere Westport Stockton M6 Hawkesbury Junction u Consall Forge Meaford Flight unnavigable / under restoration r Branch Trent & MerseyBrook CanalLake Brook Locks 4 Canal & River Trust office m d Llangollen Stone Flight y Bedford Street Bridge repairs n Chirk Aqueduct 4 a Froghall Tunnel Roundhouse Birmingham C l Stone other water bodies Montgomery 5 Tyrley Locks places to visit Repairs made to Coventry Basin g Ellesmere MarketStoke Flight 5 s Shropshire Union Canal Llangollen Canal n Prees Stoke-on-Trent on the Caldon Canal Highly e Shardlow l E StaffordTunnel opens this summer a Drayton Canal Great railway station Weighbridge building, thanks to Norbury Junctionu 6 W r Branch Burton upon Trent Trent & Mersey Canal Commended in the Institution of m d Haywood5 Whitchurch Adderley Locks cared for by Canal & River Trust y a grant from Historic England n a l C & Grindley Civil Engineers West Midlands Ellesmere Montgomery g M6 Shrewsbury & Newport Canal s Cowley Shropshire Union CanalMeaford Flight unnavigable / under restoration n e Brook 4 l E Rugeley Stone Flight Stafford a Region 2020 Merit awards Chirk Aqueduct Tunnel Canal Great Norbury4 Junction Bank protection works and Stone W other water bodies 5 Tyrley Locks Burton upon Trent Ellesmere Market Prees Wyrley & Haywood Shardlow Black Country Tunnel Shrewsbury Drayton towpath upgrades on Oxford u r BranchEssingtonShrewsbury & NewportFradley Canal JunctionTrent & Mersey Canal Botterham Bridge, locks and m d Cowley y n Rugeley Canal at Hillmorton a R l C iv Montgomery Tunnel Work carried out by Sandwell g Canal e s Shropshire Union Canal circular weir on the Staffordshire n r e l S E Stafford a Wyrley & e Canal Great Norbury Junction Coventry Metropolitan Borough Council v W M6 Toll Burton upon Trent & Worcestershire Canal Grade e Shrewsbury M54 Haywood r Lions Club adopted a stretch n Essington Fradley Junction Telford Canal to manage the vegetation Shrewsbury &M6 RNewport Canal II listed by Historic England ive Cowley Rugeley Canal of the Oxford Canal r S Tunnel and improve the pathways Wolverhampton e Walsall Wyrley & Coventry ve M6 Toll LocksShrewsbury r M54 to improve visitor access £170,000 secured from European Wolverhampton n Canal Telford EssingtonAtherstone Fradley Junction Canal £1.6m programme of reservoir R 21 Locks M6 ive M42 Canal Agriculture Farming Rural r S 8 Rushall Canal 11 works started at Earlswood Lakes ev WolverhamptonCoventry Walsall Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal e 7 Rushall Locks M54 M6 Toll Ashby Canal The Black Country was awarded Development Fund Rural Tourism rn Walsall Telford Curdworth Locks LocksCanal BCN Locks Perry Barr Curdworth 11 M6 Canal Atherstone Wolverhampton 21 UNESCO Global Geopark Status 3 Locks Tunnel Locks Infrastructure Programme to The Bratch Wolverhampton Walsall 8 M42 Bridgnorth Dudley 7 Netherton 13 Birmingham & Rushall Canal 11 Staffordshire & WorcestershireLocks CanalCanal AtherstoneRushall Locks improve a 600 meter stretch Dudley Tunnel Wolverhampton 21 Walsall 7 Ashby Canal Newtown Fazeley Canal BCN Locks Locks 11 Curdworth Locks Natural England elevated Saltwells Stourbridge Tunnel 11 8 Rushall Canal M42 11 Perry Barr Curdworth Shropshire of towpath along the Trent &