"Cut Both Ways" made its first appearance in Spring 1993 as the Newsletter of the Friends of the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals, led by John Morris. Its 12 pages were dominated by extracts from Arthur Truby's "Towpath Tales" of life on the BCN and waterway reminiscences by Ron Farr. To get the fledgling restoration project 'off the ground', it served to bring the LHCRT to the attention of a wider audience than its fistful of early members.

The second edition included 'Sharpe Cuts', an "occasional series in which Phil Sharpe comments on current events on the cut"… and he is still at it!! There was some joviality to the seriousness of dealing with industrial pollution: "Dredge out the silt, life returns, water sparkles, fish jump, anglers block new towpaths, tourists trip and fall in the water, lawyers engaged, everyone happy, etc., etc."! The Hatherton Canal Dingy Dawdle was heralded to be an important event - and time has proved it to have been so as the first such activity of its kind on our Canals.

Major restructuring took place in 1996 when the "Friends" were amalgamated into the Trust and from edition no.10, CBW became a magazine. Ever since the following edition, Steve Pitt has been its Editor, bringing a new look to the pages with features and product sales being introduced. In February 1997, our member-ship was only 157 - listed on just over two pages - and 124 of those are still on our register to this day: thanks for backing us all the way. A list of our 1,400 members now would take up the whole magazine!

This 35th edition in a new decade of "Cut Both Ways" continues the better presentation which we hope you all like… but back to that first edition.

Following the abandonment of the two canals BW sold off most of the land. The only sections remaining in BW ownership are the lengths leased to the Lichfield Cruising Club at Huddlesford and the part of the Hatherton between the M6 and the Roman Way Hotel at Cannock. My job as the Trust's Land Officer is to work for the recovery of those parts of the original channel that we wish to restore and to acquire new areas needed where development makes it necessary for us to divert from the old channel or, in the case of the Hatherton, where a new route is needed. We will not necessarily need to purchase every section - we can work under licence in places (for example where the local authorities own large sections) or lease the land on suitable terms.

Our first task is to identify the owners of the relevant properties - both those who own the track and those who own land adjacent to the channel who will be affected by our work. We currently have records of some 80 landowners but this number changes regularly as our research reveals that new properties are of interest to us and as the normal process of house moving and land dealing takes its course.

Initial contact with landowners can be an interesting experience. The aim is to establish cordial relations and to brief them on our activities and aspirations. Re-actions vary widely - there are those (still) who think we are crazy and who wish to have nothing further to do with us. Fortunately these are a very small minority and there are clear signs that our successes with the BNRR are convincing doubters that we are a serious organisation that will benefit the community and that we will, in time, succeed in reopening the canals. At the other extreme there is another small group who are highly enthusiastic about our work, who cannot wait for us to start digging and some (another very small proportion) who are even prepared to gift us the land we need if we can provide certain safeguards. The majority listen, ask a lot of questions and agree to continue discussions with us without making any firm commitment.

There can then be a lengthy pause in the proceedings. We do not have the capacity or the funds to rush to acquire all the land we will eventually need. Whilst our long term aim is to acquire the whole track, the short term aim is to have sufficient land 'in the bank' to enable us to programme our restoration work without being held up by land purchase negotiations which experience shows can be very protracted. Nevertheless, when time permits it is important that we keep in contact to try to develop and maintain the harmonious relationships that will make the eventual negotiations as straightforward as possible.

The purchasing process can sometimes be as quick as buying a house - which always takes longer than you think! On the other hand we are currently in negotiations which have been going on (and at times off) for over ten years. The Trust must follow rules laid down by the Charity Commissioners if we are to keep our charitable status. We must ensure that we make proper use of the funds we raise (and that of course includes your membership subscriptions) so we cannot agree to pay over-inflated demands however much we would like to get hold of a particular piece of land. It is therefore normally essential that we have formal valuations made and that, in some circumstances, we employ a professional land agent to deal on our behalf. We are currently involved in about a dozen negotiations - some still relatively informal: some reaching the serious stage!

Protecting the route of our two canals requires constant vigilance, as illustrated by some long running and recent development proposals.

Shorade Accident Repair Centre
The former Armitage Shanks brassworks site on the A460 at Wedges Mills was extended many years ago across the line of the Hatherton Canal, forming the first blockage beyond the end of the existing channel behind the Roman Way Hotel. It is a site that we have long been concerned about, and since it closed in 1996 there have been several proposals for redevelopment. The first planning applica-tion in 1998 by Blue Circle Industries was for retail use with a new building across the canal line, previously only used for parking. We objected and the application was not determined, then taken to appeal, but subsequently dropped. However, in 1999 a new application for a hotel and pub/restaurant still ignored the Hatherton Canal Protection Line, which is clearly shown on the Local Plan. We objected again and the application was refused. A similar application was resubmitted in 2000 but with an amended layout that finally avoided building over the canal line. However, the canal would be covered by an essential parking area for the hotel and so we again had to object. Disappointingly, Cannock Chase Council approved this application, although as it was only an Outline consent we would have had another opportunity to change the details at the Reserved Matters stage. Fortunately, however, the project never proceeded and the site was subsequently sold on.

In 2002 we were contacted by Mr Cliff Shore whose local property group had acquired the site to expand his Shorade accident repair business in Cannock. Mr Shore was aware of the former canal line and went to some trouble to research old maps to find exactly where it had been, being obscured by up to 2.8 metres of fill tipped after its closure. His first plans for the new building kept off the canal but would have impinged on the original towpath line, and we asked for the building to be slightly repositioned, along with deep foundations and no further raising of the ground levels. Mr Shore helpfully made these alterations, leaving only the question of parking for future resolution. Thus, after many years, a suitable development has been approved that keeps open this section of the canal route for future restoration and does not increase the existing problems of excavation and reinstatement.

Pipehill Bridge
The A461 Lichfield to Walsall road crosses the Lichfield Canal three times and the crossing nearest to Lichfield is at Pipehill Bridge. At this point the canal is right alongside the closed Lichfield to Walsall railway line and the railway section of the combined bridge is a cast iron girder bridge, whereas the canal span is a brick arch. Despite being closed, the railway is not abandoned and there have been many proposals for its reopening. However, the rail bridge no longer meets the increased strength criteria for main road traffic and Birse Rail have recently started work to replace the railway deck. We have sought and been given assurances that the work will not affect the canal bridge structure and that working access will be from the other side and not affect the canal bed. Local road traffic, however, will be disrupted by a 27 day closure in May and the area may be best avoided for the time being.

We are most grateful to everyone who has contributed to the fund-raising which has taken the David Suchet Appeal Fund total well over £300,000 in two years. After paying to enlarge one of the Hatherton Canal culverts at Churchbridge, about half remains available towards the Lichfield Canal aqueduct. With The Manifold Trust's grant of £250,000 being spent on the aqueduct sub-structure, we are now only £35,000 short of the full funding for the steel canal trough to cross the new M6 Toll motorway before it opens to traffic in late summer.

This year, Lichfield District Council has implemented a new Grant Aid system to provide specific project funding for local organisations. At an award ceremony in the historic Council Chamber on 2nd April, Cllr. Greatorex, Finance Portfolio Holder, was pleased to report that 64 organisations and individuals had been granted various awards totalling over £300,000. Among the awards presented by Cllr. Dickson, Chairman of Lichfield District Council, was a grant of £5,000 to the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust for the David Suchet Appeal towards the Lichfield Canal aqueduct.

Our membership continues to grow rapidly, as shown by the list of new recruits in this issue, and we welcome all those who have recently joined us. The total is now up to 1376 and a recent update of the figures behind the article in CBW32 (10 Years Of Membership Growth) shows that the Trust has now risen from 10th out of 67 to 7th out of 79 local waterway societies and is close to becoming the largest society in the Midlands and North. If anyone reading this is not yet a member, please take a look at our Membership Page

Hi, everybody
Firstly I must thank all those of you who responded to my request for saplings in the last CBW. Jan Horton had the idea to publish an appeal in the local press as well and the result from everybody was overwhelming - literally; I am still trying to catch up with the collections! If I have been a bit slow following up, my apologies, I have not forgotten, but do remind me if you feel it necessary. So far we have collected Oak, Ash, Rowan, Chestnut, Silver Birch, Hazel, Holly and Willow with more still to come.

One further appeal, if anybody has a pick-up or small trailer who can help me collect from Rugeley and West Brom where there are a number of saplings which I cannot get into the back of my hatchback (The boot of which is beginning to look more like a lorry that a family saloon!) I would be most grateful. We have many metres of hedge recovery to achieve at our three currently working sites, but planting has to be done carefully as we must leave access for the machinery required for any engineering work still to be completed. Consequently many of the saplings collected to date are being grown on in a temporary nursery at Darnford Lane. The trees can then be used in hedgerows as soon as the opportunities arise. If you do find more seedlings to collect, I now have an ample supply of large black pots kindly given by Brian White who had them surplus to requirements at his specialist Pelargonium Nursery at Tamworth.

So far we have made a modest start on wild flower recovery, with Bluebells, Fox-gloves and Myosotis planted under the hedges at Darnford and Marsh Marigolds in the wet area by the lift bridge. These latter were planted last Autumn and have taken well and will be bringing colour back to the bog in about two weeks time. We will be looking out for suitable local Sedges, Reeds and Rushes to transplant this year. However we must take care to use wild plants and not garden varieties.

Anyone interested in pursuing this aspect of recovery and keen to help out, please let me know.