Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Limited CUT BOTH WAYS WEBSITE ARCHIVES The Magazine of the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Issue No. 31 - SPRING 2002 Other Reports

I remember ending my report just a year ago by sneaking in a comment on some last minute success which could not wait a year. I reported on the triumph of the first phase of the David Suchet Appeal, the placing of the order for the first of two culverts at Churchbridge and the offer of £250,000 from the Manifold Trust. I will elaborate on these issues shortly but once again, I am in the happy position of having exciting news to pass on which cannot wait another year. However, the conventions of A.G.M's require me to take a structured and measured approach. Therefore I will now present my report, mostly for the year which ended on 31st December 2001.

I will start with membership issues. We set ourselves a target of 1000 members in the year 2000. This was always a little on the optimistic side but we have a record of punching above our weight. The present grand total of members is 1142 (including 50 life, 11 Group 10 Corporate). These figures take into account those who have chosen not to continue during the year. The notable increase in Corporate Members is mainly due to those who have contributed £1,000 or more to the David Suchet Appeal. The total figures show an increase over last year of 260. Membership number 1000 was reached in 2001 and this event was duly celebrated. 24 members joined at the Cannock Forum in January 2002, which was almost exactly the same as the number joining at the Lichfield Forum in 2001. Another 24 members joined at the Boat, Caravan and Leisure Show and there are still applications coming in from these sources. Our thanks must go to Trevor Morris for his work as Membership Secretary and to all those who have worked at public events to increase the membership. Despite the success of our appeals to the public, membership income is the bedrock of the Trust's finances.

Active restoration work continued apace during 2001. On the Lichfield Canal our work parties, regularly augmented by groups from WRG and other volunteers, have made notable progress. For legal reasons we have not been able to work at Fosseway Lane but both Darnford Lane and Tamworth Road sites have seen considerable action. A trial 50m section of new canal adjacent to the lift bridge was watered at Darnford and subsequent remedial work indicates that the section will hold water encouraging us to consider extending this watered section in the near future. At Tamworth Road impressive progress has been made in the restoring of Lock 26. Credit must go to our project engineer, John Horton for driving the work forward and to Foreman, Peter Matthews with bricklayers Barry Parkes and Alan Roberts, plus our other volunteers for their amazing dedication and hard work. (As always I apologise if I fail to mention everyone by name). Tamworth Road is our most visible site and the one which attracts the most public interest. I know that John would welcome volunteers who could take on some of the responsibilities for the work on the Lichfield and to ease his burdens. Please do not be shy - we need you.

On the Hatherton Canal, Denis Cooper and his team have continued their regular work parties during 2001, despite the problems caused by Foot and Mouth and by the unfortunate actions of one of the riparian landowners. News that the Hedgerow Trust was to use the Hatherton as its first project was very welcome. (Much work has been done in the early months of this year.) We thank Vice-Chairman, Phil Sharpe, for his work in bringing this project forward. News that the Government is again considering the widening of the M6 will present the Trust with new challenges and opportunities in its long-term aim of pushing the navigable channel under the motorway.

Inevitably, 2001 was the year of the BNRR, now known as the M6 Toll Motorway. As construction started it became urgent for the Trust to safeguard the routes of both canals. As has been extensively chronicled, the Trust was ultimately successful in protecting the route of the Hatherton through Churchbridge. The twin approach of high-profile campaigning and raising money quickly to fund culverts bore fruit. With the invaluable support of many people, M.P's, B W, The Waterways Trust, the British Marine Federation, Chris Coburn, David Suchet and very many others the Government changed its policy towards canal restorations which are threatened by road building schemes. Suddenly, the way was clear for the construction of culverts at Churchbridge which many of you will have seen. I know I will have omitted the names of many who helped us and I should certainly add Dave Fletcher (BW), Roger Hanbury (TWT) and our own Phil Sharpe. We should also note that Phil is very active in restoration and planning matters with IWA.

On the Lichfield we have also worked hard to protect the canal track from the effects of M6 Toll. John Horton has worked tirelessly to keep the aqueduct near Muckley Corner well to the front of our agenda. The granting of £250,000 towards the cost from the Manifold Trust, which I mentioned briefly last year, made us see that we have a realistic window of opportunity to build the aqueduct before the M6 Toll opens. We commissioned Maunsels to carry out design work and then hoped that work could be commissioned. Sadly, this was not to be and we are still locked in negotiations with the road builders. However, The Highways Agency has now issued a contract variation order and the Manifold Trust has permitted us to use part of its grant. We are confident that with the support of the Highways Agency, we will agree a price with the road builders which is within our budget for the construction of abutments and centre column. Meanwhile, we are pressing ahead with fund-raising in the strong hope that we can fund the superstructure for installation before the motorway opens. (Watch this space, or the hole in the ground!) Meanwhile, with new volunteers coming forward with practical contributions of plant and skills, John Horton is looking for further help, having carried the total burden for over 10 years. In particular, John would like to hear from anyone willing to take over responsibility for site and plant management, arranging WRG visits and other related activities. John will continue to handle many of the other duties on a project by project basis.

Fund-raising is, of course, vital to everything we do. The Marketing Group has achieved miracles throughout 2001 and they are often the unsung heroes putting in amazing hours of work behind the scenes. We are grateful to Derek Beardsmore for all he has done as Marketing Director and wish him well now that he has stepped down. We are delighted that Derek and Margaret continue their hard work within the Group. We are also greatly indebted to Mike and May Brown for their leadership and support. We have held two highly successful public forums (fora?) and all the work which underpinned these was carried out by Marketing. Special mention must be made of Bob and Sue Williams who have worked so hard to support Marketing. I must also pay tribute to Jan Horton who has worked so hard on local publicity, strengthening links with Lichfield Tourism and in so many other ways.

Our Director of Finance, Bob Williams, has, among other numerous activities, continued to manage all the financial aspects of the Trust and we will hear from him shortly. There are few aspects of the Trust's work which are not dependent on Bob and Sue working from a house which seems dominated by Trust activity.

Our magazine, "Cut Both Ways" has gone from strength to strength and we are most grateful to Steve Pitt for his dedication and efficiency. It is vital that we maintain a strong flow of information to our membership. The magazine is also a useful tool in passing on our news to the wider world.

I am frequently asked questions about how the Trust intends to acquire the land it needs to complete the restoration. There can be only one answer to this and that is - through purchase (or possibly gift), or through some kind of lease or licence. The Trust has no powers to obtain land by any other means. To this end it is a prime objective to develop good relations with all land owners whether they own the canal track or are alongside the canals. Mike Smith is our Land Officer and he has worked tirelessly to achieve these objectives. Fortunately, his reserves of tact and diplomacy appear endless.

I must now express our special thanks to our Vice-President, David Suchet. The television schedules readily reveal just how busy he is in his professional life and this, in itself, benefits the Trust. He has given so freely of his time that it is hard to quantify. David has been generous in many ways, including the funding of the Patrick Harrison Report which has helped us to focus more clearly on the strategic way forward. (I also pay tribute here to the work of Mike Smith and Rob Davies in conducting a painstaking survey among Directors and others so that we can identify the way we should run our business in the future.) David has starred at the Lichfield and Cannock Forums, appeared on television and radio on our behalf (totally subverting a Radio 5 Live interview) and narrated the videos directed by Laurence Hogg. By lending us his name, David has greatly advanced our cause and helped us to fill our coffers. The recent IWAAC Report, the AINA Report and presentations by The Waterways Trust and British Waterways all now refer to the L & H as schemes of national importance with the strong possibility of major support within the next few years. Without David Suchet, Chris Coburn and many others this would not have happened. Some Directors were guests of honour at a special function held in Westminster in October to celebrate the change in government policy towards canal restoration.

Last year I ended my report by straying into the current year and it is impossible not to do so again. The re-launched Suchet Appeal is going well and our hopes of completing the aqueduct using this income are rising. We have been granted £25,000 by the Stafford-shire Environmental Fund and £5,000 by Lichfield District Council. Although we need much, much more, these grants are invaluable and show that we are perceived as a project of great local (as well as national) value. We must now hope that our other applications for funding will soon bear fruit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I commend to you this report of the work of The Lichfield and Hatherton CRT in 2001 and ask for your continuing support in 2002 and in the years ahead. All the Directors are committed to pushing our project forward to completion and are confident that we can and will succeed.

Brian Kingshott Chairman

LICHFIELD CANAL REPORT

Lock 26
Three full loads of ready-mixed concrete were poured to form the main chamber walls and 6 original stones were hoisted into place to act as rubbing stones (see front cover photo). These stones measuring about 8 feet long by 2 feet deep and nearly 2 feet thick have been recovered from the ground where they had been buried when the lock was filled in. They were hoisted into position using a huge 15-ton excavator kindly lent for the job by Chasetown Civil Engineering and arranged by Peter Magee. Barry Parkes is following up with the coping brickwork and Peter Mathews and our main team are now being concentrated on the head of the lock where the walls are coming along nicely.

Lock 25
Bob the Builder has constructed a wooden footbridge across the tail of the lock which will enable the walkers to use the new towpath. A superb Lichfield Canal "You are here" sign has been donated by Trevor Youngman of Tudor Signs and installed near Millennium Lock.

(Photos by Bob Williams)

Darnford
WRG Northwest have added puddled clay and also sealed the joints between adjacent piles with a modern jointing compound. Peter Magee, with the use of his Classic 1966 Daimler-Benz fire engine, has refilled the trial section and early indications are that leakage has been greatly reduced. Without a permanent water supply, over the summer months evaporation will however exceed rainfall, until our abstraction licence for water from the brook comes into play again next October.

John Horton

(Photos by Chris Haslewood)

HATHERTON PROGRESS

The contractors for the Hatherton Hedgerow Project were on site from January to March and we had 9 days of working parties over that period instead of the usual 3. The hedge-layers were producing logs, branches and brash at a phenomenal rate as they reduced 50 years of uncontrolled straggly growth to a neat but low layered hedge. Our main 'in kind' contribution to the project is the labour to collect and burn these arisings, and the many piles of wood ash along the towpath were some testimony to the hard graft put in by our regular gang of about 8 people. It was however nice to see some new faces, including 2 members all the way from Devon ! The hedgelaying along with planting up gaps and tree surgery has been largely completed down from Roman Way to Cats Bridge and partly to Cross Bridge but the contractors will be back in November to continue through to the M6. As an addition to the original programme, BW have installed a stock proof fence behind the hedge from Roman Way to above Meadow Lock as it became apparent that it would need protecting for the next few years whilst it regrows.

The final week of the work was unfortunately somewhat handicapped by BW's sudden and unrelated decision to partially dredge the canal and put the mud on the tow-path ! We have been saying for years that dredging was increasingly urgent to improve water flow and reduce flooding, so that aspect is very welcome and has certainly improved the channel. The choking reeds and mud that were holding back the flow have been reduced and there is now more open water throughout. The canal level is back to what it used to be and the towpath under Cross Bridge is no longer permanently flooded. However, we were surprised at the timing and the disposal site, especially since BW has land available for tipping right alongside the canal. Walking the towpath had become a muddy battle and we were particularly concerned that the stone surface we had laid in 1991 on the section from Cats Bridge to Meadow Lock had been buried. Urgent meetings with BW staff from Norbury led to some remedial work being carried out and the towpath is now all walkable again, although the piles of dredgings remaining between the path and the canal will impede drainage and make vegetation maintenance more difficult. We hope that further improvements can be made. Forthcoming working parties will complete the hedgerow clearance and try to bring the towpath back under control before installing signposts and starting clearance work on Meadow Lock.

Philip Sharpe

Hatherton Canal: Dredgings on the towpath above Cats Bridge
(Photo by Phil Sharpe)

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

It is increasingly a requirement of major funding organisations that applicants have appropriate policies on Discrimination or Social Exclusion or Disabled Access, etc. Although the constitution and charitable status of the Trust demonstrate that our objectives are for public benefit, we are not directly involved in promoting greater social inclusion or equal opportunities. However, we do have general legal responsibilities to avoid racial, sex and disability discrimination and we need to have regard to the requirements of organisations that we deal with. Therefore, the Trust's Directors have recently adopted an "Equal Opportunities Policy" which addresses all these matters in a brief but comprehensive statement which applies equally to all our members.

"The Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Ltd. encourages the participation of all sections of the community in its activities without discrimination by race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, class, religion, sex, sexuality, employment status, age or disability, subject only to compliance with legal requirements including Health and Safety and insurance on its construction sites. The Trust will expect any contractors or consultants working for it to subscribe to similar policies on equal opportunities. All canal restoration works undertaken by or on behalf of the Trust will so far as reasonably practicable be designed to maximise access by the disabled, consistent with conservation of heritage features and the safety of users of the waterway."

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Happy Birthday
Mrs B M Turner of Penn kindly donated her 90th birthday money
towards the canal restoration (£70). She lived for many years in Cricket Lane,
(off Tamworth Road) and has very fond memories of the canal and was very
pleased when she recently found out that we are restoring it.

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DAVID SUCHET APPEAL - Target for 2002

• In the light of our campaigning success in 2001, when the magnificent response to the David Suchet Appeal funded the first Hatherton Canal culvert at Churchbridge and inspired the Government to fund the second one, there has been an excellent boost to the fund this year towards building the Lichfield Canal Aqueduct with 10% of the £250,000 target already in hand.
• Appeal brochures are still being distributed widely through the waterway press, other interest groups, and during the main summer shows.
• Many members have already made generous donations, and many more are likely to do so when they get one of our Appeal brochures in the sub-scriber issues of their favourite waterway magazines.
• To economise on costs, willing donors should please respond on one of our formal brochures (2001 or 2002) as above, or simply send a payment to Bob Williams, Finance Director listed on page 26.
• If you are a tax-payer, remember to indicate that you wish your payment to be treated as a Gift Aid donation so that the Trust can reclaim the tax value.
• TOGETHER, WE CAN DO IT!

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  GRAND PRIZE DRAW
  With this edition, we include three books of tickets for our 2002 Prize Draw. Excellent prizes have been donated to assist the Trust with essential fund-raising. You get 4 numbers for £1, and with only 3,000 books printed, the worst odds of winning one of the four main prizes is 3,000 to 1: not bad!
  Please return completed counterfoils and payment to the promoter named on the tickets (Bob Williams, Finance Director) by 20th October in time for the draw on 2nd November 2002.

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  HUDDLESFORD JUNCTION
  Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line railway, including widening the Lichfield to Tamworth section to 4 tracks, is being promoted by Railtrack through their Transport & Works Act (No.2) Order. It is intended to cater both for faster passenger trains and a doubling of freight train numbers, which would be mostly overnight. Despite Railtrack being in Administration with a very uncertain future, the Public Inquiry into the proposals proceeded in February and March, although the financing and timetable of the works are now very uncertain. If they proceed however, they will have a major impact on Huddlesford Junction where the Lichfield Canal joins the Coventry Canal, particularly during construction.

  The railway bridge over the Coventry Canal will be replaced and widened, taking land to widen the embankment behind The Plough Public House and part of Lichfield Cruising Club's field which is leased from BW. A much larger area of the field and land on the other side of the canal will be taken temporarily as a construction site for the bridges, with a temporary Bailey Bridge over the canal. Whilst this goes on over two years there will be considerable disruption and noise affecting the Cruising Club moorings on the Huddlesford Arm (Lichfield Canal) and the popular visitor moorings on the Coventry Canal.

  Although they were objectors to the scheme LCC did not attend the Inquiry and BW appeared only briefly, however the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) was present throughout to help safeguard the interests of all waterway users. IWA's main concerns at Huddlesford were to minimise the length of any navigation closures and to secure additional noise barriers. Railtrack offered BW an Undertaking to not close the waterway during the 'cruising season', except for work on the temporary bridge which would be limited to overnight closures, but BW and IWA maintained their position that this should be enforced by amendments to the Orders, especially in view of the uncertainty about Railtrack's future or the obligations of any successor body. No concession on noise barriers was offered.

  IWA's attendance proved vital when it became apparent that Railtrack were proposing to import bulk fill for the embankment widening along the narrow local lanes, involving over 26,000 HGV movements over the hump-back Brookhay canal bridge on the Coventry Canal, which has never been reinforced to sustain such intensive use. In the face of strong objections from Staffordshire County Highways, IWA and BW, Railtrack have backed down and agreed to use the lineside haul roads. This is far better environmentally and saves Brookhay Bridge from destruction, but the drawback is that there will now be more construction traffic over the Bailey Bridge at Huddlesford and hence more noise and visual intrusion around the Junction. IWA asked for extra temporary noise barriers to mitigate this, but it will now be up to the Inspector to decide what to recommend to the Minister who takes the final decision. If it ever proceeds, Huddlesford will become a 'no-go area' for the duration as far as a pleasant mooring is concerned and the Cruising Club will undoubtedly suffer, although there should be no direct impact on our restoration project.

  Phil Sharpe

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  Our thanks to Terry Stroud who recently donated a number of canal prints
  to the Trust. He can be seen trading as Waterways Pictures at many shows
  and waterway events or contacted on 01767 640938

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