David & Sheila Suchet in front of Aqueduct centre columns
(Photo by Bob Williams)

CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN

The cover date on this CBW is Winter 2003. Thus the Lichfield & Hatherton enters the 16th year of its existence (although the Trust itself is just a little younger). When we hold open meetings we are often asked when we hope to have our canals ready and we have learnt a degree of caution in formulating our response. A strong sense of optimism is an essential requirement in canal restoration work and we remain as optimistic as ever that the re-opening of both canals is achievable within a reasonable time span. There is a very long way still to go but so much of the ground work has been done, slowly, painstakingly and methodically.

The short-term demands placed on the Trust by the building of the M6 Toll Motorway have preoccupied us for over a decade and have been a recurring theme of this column during my Chairmanship. Anyone attempting to drive along the A5, and any connecting roads between Coleshill and Cannock, will know that the building process is approaching its end. The great scar across the Staffordshire countryside has been transformed into what is clearly almost a completed highway. Bridges, embankments and intersections are in place and even the carriageways look virtually ready for traffic in many places. We hear that work is running ahead of schedule and that the road may well be open in late autumn this year.

On the Hatherton at Churchbridge culverts 144 and 155 were completed some time ago and we can see the continuing problems which we will have to face before the route of the navigation is clear and secure. There is much still to be done but at least the threat of total obliteration of the route which faced us two years ago has been lifted.

On the Lichfield Canal we have achieved much but there is still a way to go before we can be sure that the canal crossing can be achieved before the motorway "goes live" All our efforts are now focused on the building of the aqueduct between Brownhills and Muckley Corner. The tremendous public support for the David Suchet Appeal has enabled the Trust to commission the construction of the side abutments and the centre columns of the aqueduct and work on these was well advanced as we went to press. This, in itself, is a huge achievement, but the biggest step remains to be taken.

It is vital that the steel trough is put in place before the new road opens. The advantages in cost are self-evident. Access to the site will be much easier before the traffic starts to flow and costs will be vastly lower. We must place an order with the manufacturer in early February, at the latest. As I write, we are still £100,000 short of the amount we need to go ahead. There are many calculations to be made and funds continue to be donated but time is very short. We have to weigh our determination to succeed against the proper prudence required of Trust Directors.

We are determined to go ahead with the construction and erection of the trough if at all possible. Not only will this save the Trust very large sums of money in the future but will also send out a clear statement of our determination to succeed. We have come so far since 1988 and we must make 2003 a year to remember. If you can help with raising this final sum of money for the Suchet Appeal you will be helping the Trust to make an enormous step forward. We will be truly walking with destiny in 2003.

Brian Kingshott

AGM Our Annual General Meeting will be held as usual in late April, on Saturday 26th at Whittington Village Hall (see formal notice). It falls this year between 2 bank holiday weekends which will both be busy times for the Trust. The weekend before is our Easter Boat Gathering and Barn Dance, details of which are given elsewhere, whilst a week later we are hosting a Canal Study Weekend by Kingdom Tours. The AGM will therefore be primarily a business meeting but will have added interest with an audio-visual campaign and restoration update and a visit to see progress on our main restoration site at Tamworth Road. We hope to see as many members as possible at the AGM to help mark our considerable progress this year.

DIRECTORS
One of the main items of business at the AGM will be the election of new directors and trustees. Mike Smith and Sue Williams were co-opted to the Board in August and October respectively and are now standing for election for the normal three year term. Mike was formerly a director between 1993 and 1998 and has returned to active involvement in both land liaison and strategic planning roles. Sue looks after our website and also acts as our minutes secretary, pending any other willing volunteer, as well as contributing to Marketing Group. At the same time we are losing two long-standing directors in Denis Cooper and John Horton. Denis was a founder member of the Trust and a director since 1989, but has not been able to attend meetings regularly of late. We are pleased that he will continue to supervise the maintenance work parties on the Hatherton Canal, although any offer of assistance in organising further restoration work from later in the year would be welcomed. John has been a director since 1992 during which time we have made great progress with restoration work in and around Lichfield. John will continue to advise us on some engineering design matters in progress, in particular the completion of work on the aqueduct, and will assist with handing over responsibilities for future working parties.

RESTORATION PLANS
The partial loss of both of our restoration directors coincides with a period of consolidation, giving us time to make new plans and, hopefully, find new people to help us take them forward. The agreed plan of work for 2003 concentrates on finishing off the restoration of Lock 26 and doing some additional work on Lock 25, both of which can be done largely from our own resources of skilled labour and with allocated funding. We have had to take the decision not to arrange a Canal Camp this year or to plan for any major input from WRG weekends so as to conserve our funds for the vitally important completion of the aqueduct. Once the funding for this is assured we can resume a more active programme of restoring the canals instead of building motorway bridges which the Government and MEL should have provided. There are limits to what can be done with voluntary labour, however, and it is likely that we will need to concentrate in future more on obtaining grants to fund contract work in order to speed up our rate of progress.

DONATIONS
Donations to the David Suchet Appeal continue at a high level and the funding gap for the aqueduct trough is narrowing all the time. A full list of major donors is as usual given elsewhere but I might highlight particularly generous donations of £1,000 from Mr & Mrs. Riggs and Mr Wiley, £2,000 from Damar Properties, a further £3,000 from IWA Lichfield Branch, and £10,000 from the L. Ron Hubbard Foundation. A promised £4,000 for the restoration budget from Barclays Bank Community Unit has also now been confirmed.

HATHERTON GRANT
We have now received an offer of £267,250 for the Hatherton Canal from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, Objective 2) and by the time you read this we hope the conditions will be met and the grant confirmed. This has taken some 18 months of work and the process has been far from easy. However, the effort has now borne fruit, even if somewhat later than first envisaged. The grant will fund 3 related elements; reports, land and construction. The reports will be contracted to professional consultants and comprise a comprehensive set of studies consisting of a detailed route definition and engineering report including water supply and hydrology, an economic benefit study and an environmental assessment. The limited allocation for land will go towards acquisition of key sections of land in private ownership to secure the continuity of the route. The money for construction will fund further work associated with the M6Toll, although the delayed confirmation of the grant has made obtaining agreement on this more difficult. Much work will now be needed to fully specify the studies and to persuade MEL/CAMBBA to undertake further work for us at this late stage in their programme. It remains to be seen if we can still obtain the full potential benefit of this offer but there is no doubt that it is another major breakthrough for the Hatherton Canal. It should put us in the position by the end of 2003 of having a fully defined and costed project on which we can base an active partnership to carry it through to realise the identified benefits.

Grand prize draw 2002 The draw took place on Saturday November 2nd 2002 at the BCNS bonfire rally at Galton Valley. The winning tickets were drawn by Martin O'Keeffe, Chairman of BCNS. First Prize won by Mr Doug Birch of Brownhills. List of prize winners elsewhere in CBW.

Bottom Blacking Draw
The draw took place at Kings Bromley Marina on Saturday November 2nd 2002. The winning ticket was drawn by Ian Burnage. Prize won by Mr. & Mrs. A. Capewell of Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent.

Our grateful thanks go to Ian Burnage who presented the David Suchet Appeal with a cheque for £1,527.43. This money was raised by Ian and his family by being sponsored in the BCNS Challenge this last Summer.

Social Evening
This event was held at the Grangemoor Working Mens Club Burntwood, on Saturday 16th November. We were entertained by the El'San Band. This very successful evening was organised by Derek & Margaret Beardsmore and thanks to their hard work, £722.50 was raised towards the David Suchet Appeal.

Forthcoming events
We will be attending the Boat, Caravan & Outdoor Show at the N.E.C, Birmingham, Saturday 15th to Sunday 23rd February 2003. Anyone wishing to help, please contact Team Leader. Bob Williams: tel. 01543 671427.

Following our very successful Boat Gathering at the home of Eric & Doreen Wood last Easter, Eric has very kindly offered to hold another Gathering this Easter with a coffee morning and a bring and buy sale, from Friday 18th - Sunday 20th of April.

ANNOUNCEMENT
It is with deep sadness that I have to announce the death of Ian Humphries, a member of our Marketing group, who died on 21st November 2002 . We offer our deepest sympathy, to Trish and her family.

Press & publicity this time covers the period 5th October 2002 to 5th January 2003.

Restoration work by KESCRG on Lock 26 in September was pictured in the Lichfield Mercury with a report simply headed "Navvies", and the Lichfield Post pictured the excavator loaned by Chasetown Civil Engineering at work at Darnford Lane under the title "The 'modern' navvies". The start of the second winter of work on the Hatherton Canal hedgerow project was presaged in the Express & Star by "Canal hedgerow work continues", and Canal & Riverboat for January reported "£25,000 for Hatherton hedgerow restoration" in which Mike Youe of BW paid tribute to the help from our volunteers.

Waterways World also separately reported on the ERDF "Grant for Hatherton Canal", which was further publicised by a colour picture in the Express & Star of David with Cannock property developer Fred Pritchard and his vintage Lagonda car at Walkmill Way, headlined "Poirot celebrates canal cash" and "Grant to restore waterway".

Lichfield Canal work parties are held on the first Sunday of each month from 10 am. mainly working at Lock 26 at Tamworth Road. (Park by Lock 25 and walk past The Cottage to the entrance to Lock 26). Some additional Saturdays will also be worked and most Wednesday evenings over the summer (from about 5.30pm). Contact Peter Matthews on 01543-318933 or John Horton on 01543-262466 for confirmation of dates.

Weekend work parties: Sunday 2 and Saturday 15 February; Sunday 2 and Saturday 15 March; Sunday 6, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 April; Sunday 4 and Saturday 17 May; Sunday 1 and Saturday 14 June.
Wednesday evenings: 7, 14 and 28 May

HATHERTON CANAL

Hatherton Canal work parties are held on the third Sunday of each month from 10 am. In February and March we will again be arranging extra dates at short notice to help with the hedgerow work. Contact Denis Cooper on 01543-374370 (work) for details of meeting place and extra dates.

Monthly work parties: Sundays: 16 February, 16 March, 20 April, 18 May, 15 June

ALL SITES: Bring old clothes, stout footwear, work gloves, and refreshment. Hard hats and basic working tools can be provided as necessary, although you are welcome to bring your own.