Registered Charity No. 702429
CUT BOTH WAYS WEBSITE ARCHIVES
The Magazine of the Lichfield & Hatherton
Canals Restoration Trust
Issue No. 49 - AUTUMN 2006
|
Registered Charity No. 702429 |
CUT BOTH WAYS WEBSITE ARCHIVES
|
|
CHAIRMAN’S column
| At last I can report that work has started on constructing the culvert which will take the Lichfield Canal under the Birmingham Road as part of the Southern Bypass scheme. It has taken over a year of complex discussions to finalise the deal and I must pay tribute to my fellow directors for their hard work and support through some difficult times. I must include in these thanks a tribute to British Waterways whose negotiating skills were invaluable. Chief Executive, Robin Evans, has kept in close touch with the issues and Tony Harvey and his team at Fazeley threw all their resources into the ring. Not least, I must thank Roy Sutton. IWA honorary consultant engineer for making the long drive from Sussex to give us invaluable expert advice. Now all we have to do is to pay for the work and elsewhere in this magazine you will find the financial position set out by Bob Williams. One simple message is that we need continuing generous support from everyone who values canal restoration. |
The marketing team took our stand to the IWA National Festival at Beale Park in late August and we must always be grateful for the great commitment of those who, under David Moore’s direction, give up so much time to these events. It was a pleasant weekend and it was good to be able to meet our Vice-President, David Suchet, who had just performed the official opening of the Festival. We had a very long conversation with the inevitable photocalls. David is very committed to our cause and hopes to be able to come to Lichfield very soon to catch up on our progress and to relaunch the Appeal. He is also very actively pursuing the complex issues surrounding PPG 13. This is the government policy which we had thought would ensure that the Trust would not have to pay for such road crossings as the one at Birmingham Road but which was interpreted in a way which was totally unhelpful. Such issues will surely come along again and we are very aware that the plans to widen the M6 will bring PPG 13 very much back into play. We are very fortunate to have such very active support from our Vice President.
Within the Trust we have had some changes of personnel. We have been very pleased to welcome Bob Mullarkey as a Director. Bob has attended our meetings for many years and has been a regular part of our Lichfield work force. He has agreed to take on the Health and Safety portfolio and to contribute to give his expertise to site management. We held a meeting in late July with members who have approached us with offers of help. We had a very pleasant evening and made some progress towards drawing them into our work. We are especially looking for help on the engineering planning and supervision side of things. We have also spent a consultation evening with our volunteers who continue to work hard on the site at Tamworth Road. Everyone was agreed that we must press ahead with the work at Tamworth Road using both our own volunteers and visiting groups.
The future of Lock 24, which was excavated for exploration has been considered. Having assessed its condition, photographed all the details and taken measurements, the best way ahead in the short term is to fill it in and carry out low level landscaping. This will improve the appearance of the area, enable the safety fencing to be removed and ensure a good through route for walkers. The infill will also conserve the brickwork and limit the need for maintenance work. In due time the future of Lock 24 will be determined when there is a clearer idea on how the canal will achieve a crossing of Cricket Lane.
In early September Phil Sharpe stood down as Lichfield Canal Work Party Organiser. We owe Phil a considerable debt of gratitude for all that he has done for the Trust for so many years. This is also a good time to give our continuing thanks to Denis Cooper who keeps the Hatherton in good order with his dedicated team.
Also on the Hatherton front we have finally taken delivery of the completed Arup Report which has been on the stocks for nearly 3 years. Again, we are indebted to Phil Sharpe for all his detailed input and revision. We now have a professional document which we can show to councils, landowners, developers and potential funders. Directors are now exploring ways in which we can use the Report to the best advantage while it is still fresh and up to date. Receiving this report highlights just how important it is to get something similar for the Lichfield Canal but, as ever, cost is a limiting factor. On the positive side, we recently made a presentation to the Planning Scrutiny Committee of Lichfield District Council.
It is important that restoration schemes are seen to benefit and involve a wide spectrum of interests. Although we have to see the wider strategic picture and show how the restored canals will enhance and regenerate the national network, especially the BCN, we have to ensure that we are inclusive at the local level. We need the support of the walkers, the conservationists, the schools and many others. When we fill in those enormous grant application forms we have to be able to tick the boxes. We have established a valuable link with Great Barr School which will be useful to both sides of the deal. Meanwhile we are delighted that this magazine comes to you through the good offices of the 1444th (Brownhills) Squadron Air Training Corps. Their offer of help was very welcome but they are too young to be let loose on site and so they have been deployed on the processing of envelopes, stamps and address labels.
The Trust is in good heart and ends 2006 with some very real progress to record. We are confident that our work will continue to go forward with the continuing support of our members. Above all can I urge you all to support the David Suchet Appeal which is enabling us to pay for the very expensive works in Lichfield.
Brian Kingshott FUNDING NEWS
| BIRMINGHAM ROAD CULVERT During September, the Trust entered into a legal Agreement with Staffordshire County Council for the construction of a canal culvert under a new roundabout now being constructed on Birmingham Road, Lichfield at a fixed cost of £490,000. Whilst this is advance work for the Lichfield Canal in this location, failure to do it now could have jeopardised the chances of full restoration for ever. The Charity Bank have provided a loan of £255,000, repayable over 25 years (or sooner without penalty). Additional borrowing will be needed to for the final stage payment of £50,000 early next year. These commitments place a considerable strain on the Trust’s finances, leaving little available for the ongoing work of canal restoration. |
DAVID SUCHET APPEAL
To reduce the level of debt for the above works, donors have risen to the challenge put out in the Spring to raise as much as possible towards a target of £250,000. So far, cash income, pledges and Gift Aid tax recovery amount to £55,000: remarkable in just a few months! We thank you all for your generosity – not for “our” canal, but “your” future link to revitalise the northern BCN.
The Appeal is not closing; it’s only just begun. Whilst the related works are under way, it’s that burden of debt to meet the deadline that we must still overcome. If you have been thinking about it, please act now as anything from £10 to £1,000 will be gratefully received. If you do not have an Appeal leaflet with donation form to hand, try the website www.lhcrt.org.uk where you can make an online payment (and record Gift Aid tax declaration), or simply send a cheque with a covering note that it is for the David Suchet Appeal and with Gift Aid if possible. Cheques should be made payable to LHCRT Ltd, David Suchet Appeal and sent to the Treasurer Bob Williams as detailed on the back page of this magazine. All contributions will be acknowledged and, remember, £1,000 qualifies you for Life Membership.
We hope that David Suchet will be able to come to Lichfield this Autumn to visit the site and redouble his support for the Appeal. Much has happened since his last visit which helped us raise all the funding then needed to complete the Lichfield Canal Aqueduct over the M6 Toll motorway. That testimony to our aims to achieve full restoration is seen by over 30,000 travellers every day. We need to press on with the rest to bring it into use as a major waterway feature in the Midlands.
GRAND PRIZE DRAW BIG LOTTERY BREATHING PLACES EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND Bob Williams Director (Finance)
Hopefully you will be reading this magazine just after October when there is still a chance to enter your tickets in our annual Draw to be made during our “Jazz Night” in Whittington on 11th November. Thanks to those who have sold or bought tickets which have raised over £3,500 so far: keep them coming in up to the last minute! Prize winners will be announced in the next issue.
The Trust has made a bid for £2,300 towards another public walk of part of the Lichfield Canal in 2007. Such walks have been very popular on two previous occasions with many people asking when they can find out more about the route of the canal. An update will be included in the next edition. If you would like to help with this, please call Bob Williams on 01543 671427.
The long-awaited ERDF-funded Feasibility Report on the Hatherton Canal by Arup was completed and delivered in August. Over 100 pages of close text and diagrams and 20 large sheets of drawings provide a detailed analysis of the route and requirements for its reinstatement – and of course an outline of the astronomic cost even at today’s prices. As we get to grips with the content, it is expected that elements will be reported in “Cut Both Ways”.
Trust & Marketing
| Mr P C Whitehouse | £25.00 | Mrs T Dudley (talk fees) | £50.00
| Mr H J Y Pringle(with sub) | £105.00 | Mr R W Lloyd-Hart (with sub) | £24.00
| Mr P R Newman (with sub) | £35.00 | Mr J Moreton (with sub) | £90.00
| Mr N Blears (with sub) | £29.00 | Mr R F Kilsby | £25.00
| Sitech Software Ltd | £25.00 | Late D A Smith legacy | £10,000.00
| Mr A V H Gulvin | £35.00 | Mr G H Thompson (with sub) | £50.00
| Mrs J Foster in memory of late Mother | £500.00 | Mr D Shipman | £35.00
| Mr D G Harwood (with sub) | £25.50 | Brian Kingshott (donated expenses) | £320.76
| Lichfield Running Club; water station | £100.00 | Aggregated donations below £20 each | £348.55
| Restoration & Land Fund
| Mr David Stanistreet | £90.00 | Regular donors to appeals | £208.00
| The David Suchet Appeal
| Mr E J Geary | £100.00 | Anonymous | £100.00
| Mr S M Merrett | £100.00 | IWA Northumbria Branch (twice) | £450.00
| Mr M P Adamson | £25.00 | Mr G Giddings | £50.00
| Mr D R Ayles | £25.00 | Mr K A Twyman | £50.00
| Anonymous pledge | £2,400.00 | Mr B K J Marlow | £25.00
| Mr J B E Parkes | £250.00 | Mr M J Reeves (pledge) | £240.00
| Mr & Mrs B Seymour | £50.00 | Mr D A Loader | £25.00
| Mr A D Brookes | £300.00 | Mr P E Chaplin | £100.00
| IWA Middlesex Branch | £250.00 | Mr P J Heathcote | £40.00
| Mr C D Gibson | £100.00 | Mrs D W Lear | £25.00
| Mr D Alan Parkes | £100.00 | Mr A P Hopkins | £150.00
| Mr R C Snell | £40.00 | Mr M D Ainge (pledge) | £360.00
| Mr W F Dukes (part pledge) | £500.00 | Mrs P Ainge (pledge) | £360.00
| Mrs P Burgess | £25.00 | Mr L H walker (additional) | £100.00
| Mr P J Smith | £150.00 | Mr J Denton | £100.00
| Mr P L G Holland | £500.00 | Dr A Padfield | £250.00
| IWA South London Branch | £250.00 | Mrs C A Henry | £1,000.00
| Regular donors to appeals | £1,406.40 | |
| | |||||||||
We are very grateful for the following donations:-
MARKETING REPORT Unfortunately Cut Both Ways 48 had been printed and posted out. We did manage to circulate some members locally and we posted it on the web site straight away. The problem was compounded when the local newspaper announced the event in its What’s On section. We placed cancellation notices in the nearby village, on the towpath and in the lane leading to the site. In addition Sue Williams e-mailed as many local members as she had addresses for.
I know that not everyone is on e-mail and we can only say that we are very sorry to anyone that made a wasted journey to Huddlesford. We cannot blame the local paper; they got the information from Cut Both Ways and that is precisely the reason we send them the magazine. It is nice to know that they read it. It has highlighted a weakness in our system in that that we no longer have an identified press & publicity officer. If you feel this is something you can take on, please contact any of the committee.
There are a number of events to report on, beginning with the Lichfield Medieval Market in July. This is certainly one of the most colourful events that we participate in and always very enjoyable. It was made more enjoyable this year when we realised that it produced a record turnover of nearly £600. We had our usual site and two gazebos with a mixture of publicity and fundraising material, together with bric-a-brac, to attract the customers. Team consisted of Bob & Sue, Mike & Bobbie, Paul & Beverley, Hilary, Jan, Terry & Jean (pictured below in medieval costume), Julie and Mavis and myself. My thanks to everyone for their contribution.
- The family of the late D A Smith for £10,000 at a time of particular need.
- Mr Trevor Youngman of Tudor Signs, Walsall for footpath signs and frames.
- Mrs J Newman, Burntwood, for an aluminium ladder
HUDDLESFORD GATHERING
First let me apologise for the cancellation of the above event and to any members who attempted to visit the site. We always knew that there would be some disruption because of the engineering works being carried out by Network Rail but we were confident that it would not prevent the event taking place. However, as the time of the event drew nearer it became obvious that the extent of the disruption was greater than we expected, so reluctantly we took the decision to cancel it.
| As a change from canals our next outing involved traction engines, vintage tractors and motor cars. Doveridge Steam & Vintage Charity Rally was held this year at Needwood Rise Farm, Barton-under-Needwood. This was the first time that the event had been held there, the organisers having lost their previous site near Derby. Among the local charities supported were St Giles Hospice and The County Air Ambulance. On arrival we were told there was a marquee set aside for charity stalls but that it had lost its roof the previous evening. We were welcome to use the space and, we were told, the roof would be put back on later. Needless to say this did not happen but we had no need to worry, for two days we had the clearest of blue skies for our roof. There was plenty to entertain the visitors with fairground rides as well as the vehicles, it was a pity it was not better attended. Our take at the show was a disappointing £60. Bob & Sue on Saturday and Mike B on the Sunday helped Mavis & I. |  Photo by Dave Moore |
The following weekend saw the team running a charity stall at Walsall Market. Once again a chance to get rid of some of the bric-a-brac the Trust accumulates over the year. My first time at this event and, by all accounts, not as well attended as previous years. Nevertheless we managed to take a very useful £213. Thanks here are due to Bob & Sue, Bobbie, Hilary, Brian our chairman, Terry & Jean, Mavis & I and Peter Magee who provided the transport.
Then for the big one, the IWA National Festival at Beale Park on the banks on the Thames near Goring. The Festival was opened by our vice president David Suchet OBE. David found time in his busy day to visit the stand and meet the team. Also on hand were our Chairman Brian, President Eric Wood and Patron Chris Coburn OBE.
It was an opportunity to bring all concerned up to date with the situation at Birmingham Road. David Fletcher CBE, former chairman of BW and another of our patrons, also visited the stand on the Saturday.
 Dave & Mary Fletcher try our "Canal Clean-up" game |  Dave Moore and Barry Kenn talk to show visitors
 Teddy Bears Club member Edward the Boating Bear paid us a visit
|  David Suchet congratulates Dr & Mrs Fraser Dukes on their purchase of the BCN brass map
Photos taken by Bob Williams
| | |||||
Hardly time to get home before we had the Whittington Country Fair on the following Saturday. Unfortunately this year’s event was not blessed with good weather; we had high winds and at times heavy rain. The stand was within the main marquee so we were spared the worst of it but some of the exhibitors who were outside did not have an easy time of it. The display included material loaned to us by the Local History Society who had done some research on the Capper family from whom Cappers Bridge takes its name. Sales at the event were over £100, including over £70 of draw tickets, so well done and thank you to Mike, Bev, Hilary and Julie.
Sunday morning the 10th September saw us out bright and early at Darnford Lane, not to see the canal but to provide a welcome drink for the competitors in the Lichfield 10K Road Race. Over 800 competitors took part in the event and, as in previous years, the Trust manned the drinks station. The event organisers make a donation of £100 in recognition of our contribution and we were thanked in both the local Lichfield newspapers. The team at Darnford Lane were Jeanne & Peter Buck, Rob, Bev, Bob, Mavis and I.
| 
| |
| 
| |
| Photos taken by Bob Williams | ||
On Saturday 21st October at Boley Park Community Hall, we will be holding our Autumn Fair. Unfortunately this will not reach you in time so I hope that you put the date in your diaries last issue. Hopefully it will be in time to remind you about the Jazz Evening at Whittington Village Hall (that’s where the AGM was held this year). The date is November 11th and tickets are available from Sue or myself at £12 per person including supper.
Finally a reminder that the Boat, Caravan & Outdoor Show will be at The National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham from 17-25 February 2007 and we will again be represented. We need to man the stand for all 9 days of the show so if you can spare a day or more please contact me on 01543 432718 David Moore
CADETS ‘FLY IN’ TO SUPPORT THE TRUST
The Brownhills canal festival is always one to enjoy. When manning the Trust’s stand one is met with great interest and enthusiasm for our project even if the most repeated question is still unanswerable;
“ When will it be finished?”
As a social event it is a very rewarding day, often meeting local residents with tales to tell about the ‘curly Wyrley’ in its heyday, even (regrettably more rarely these days) talking to those who worked the canal. Stories worth noting before they are lost forever.
For interest, this year was no exception, but for a very different reason.
Along the canal-side festival site the 1444 (Brownhills) Squadron Air Training Corps were exhibiting and recruiting. During the day I was approached by their commanding (senior) Officer Chris Corns who was looking for assistance with activities for their cadets.
The group is for young people between 13 and 18 and meets on Wednesday & Friday evenings between 17:30 and 22:00 in Brownhills. Activities range from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to aviation training, shooting and adventure training and service in helping charitable organisations. The Squadron telephone number is 01543 360717. Email Tom Hender or Chris Corns. As part of their training, particularly those engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, the cadets are required to complete work for the community at large.
Chris was enquiring if the Trust could offer on-going work to help cadets add to their CVs. Engaging with the community is also a very important activity for our Trust, examples are often needed in support of bids for grant funds for our restoration activities. Happily we were able to suggest a suitable task.
It is gratifying to note that the Trust’s membership is steadily growing, currently reported by Trevor Morris, your Membership Secretary to be standing at 1650. This very welcome growth does bring with it certain challenges, viz. packing, labelling, stamping and posting all the copies of Cut Both Ways, four times a year - a laborious and time consuming task.
On many occasions the Williams clan and other local volunteers are pressed into service. But on this occasion this was not necessary because the cadets completed the job for us in double quick time.
Our sincere thanks are due to Chris Corns for arranging and to Plt. Off. Thomas Hender for managing the exercise, and also to:
(from left to right on the first photo below):
Cdt Cpl Stefan Hinton
Cdt David Marshall
Cdt Cpl Sarah Pugh
Cdt Mike Webb
Cdt James Hawkins
Cdt Luke Daniels
Cdt Merrett (Not Pictured)
 | 
| |
 | 
| |
| Photos by Thomas Hender | ||
Your efforts are now recorded for posterity on the Trust’s website.
Mike Battisson
Thanks again guys, we wish you every success in your training. See you again for the Winter Issue?
The name plates for “Badgers Bridge” and “Silvesters Bridge” (originally at Stokes Lane and Norton Lane) are now being restored and the Trust is looking for a suitable place to display them.
Many thanks again to Tony, (and to Bob Mullarkey who collected them from Caerphilly).
 Tony Jukes (photo by Bob Mullarkey) |  Bridge name plates from Tony Jukes (photo by Bob Mullarkey)  Tug & coal boats on the Anglesey Branch Canal (photo by Tony Jukes. For more of Tony's photos go to our Photo Gallery) | ||
Map showing how the two canals, when restored, will add a vital link to the Birmingham Canal Navigations
Plan of the proposed route of the Hatherton Canal restoration
NEW MEMBERS TO 8th OCTOBER 2006
| Mr R Burgess, Halesowen | | Mr D.J.T. Bennett, Burntwood
| Mrs D.L. Bennett, Burntwood | | Miss S.E. Haycock, Cannock
| Mr D.J. Whitmore, Lichfield | | Ms D. Smith, Lichfield
| Mrs A. Boot, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan | | Mr I. Bird, Lichfield
| Mr M.J. Adamson, Bournemouth | | Mr R. Dale, Lichfield
| Mr J. Winfield, Pelsall, Walsall | | Mr D. Pike, Droitwich
| Mr & Mrs R. Wood, Kingstanding, Birmingham | | Mr S.G. Crossland, Walton on the Hill, Stafford
| Mr R. Kulkarni, Lichfield | | Mr S.G.H. Nevill, Sandygate, Sheffield
| Mr & Mrs C. McGranaghan, Lichfield | | Mr P. Gilbert, Lichfield
| Mr A. Townsend, Worthy Down, Hants. | | Mrs G.M. Pitt, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
| Mr M.J. Stewart, Midland Canal Club, Northampton | |
| | ||
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We regret to record the loss of the following member:-
Mr Barry Henry, Wolverhampton, died December 2006
If you are on e-mail, could you help me to update our records?
Please send a message to info@lhcrt.org.uk with the word “address” in the subject line
so that I can confirm or correct your details on the database.
Why not do it now before you forget.
Sue Williams
Secretary & WebMaster
 |
WORKING PARTIES NEWS & DATES |
 |
LICHFIELD CANAL
To find our usual work site at Lock 25 on Tamworth Road (Grid ref. SK 130 083) take the A51 out of Lichfield and the site is on the right about 300 metres after Cricket Lane. Look out for the yellow sign.
Our own work parties are supplemented by WRG and ‘Dig Deep’ weekend visits. We generally work from about 9 am to 4 pm and more help is always welcome, even if you can spare only a few hours. Check for additional dates or the latest plans with Bob Williams on 01543 671427 (Email: Bob Williams) or keep checking this web site where any changes will be shown.
Work Party Dates:
| November: | Sunday 5, Sunday 12, Saturday 18, Sunday 26.
| December: | Sunday 3, Sunday 10, Saturday 16.
| January: | Sunday 7.
| February: | Sunday 4, wrgNW Sat/Sun 3/4, London WRG Sat/Sun 24/25.
| March: | Sunday 4, Newbury WPG Sat/Sun 10/11.
| | |
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.
| For details of Waterway Recovery Group Subscribe to Navvies (minimum (£1.50) from Sue Watts 15 Eleanor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ |
Work Party News
This report covers July, August and the start of September 2006 and includes work done at Tamworth Road site by the Trust’s own volunteers plus an additional weekend visit from the London Waterway Recovery Group in early August.
 In the garden, at the top of Lock 26 |  Looking towards Lock 25 | |
 At the top of Lock 25 |  Into the bottom of Lock 24 | |
 Lock 24 |  The offside wall of Pound 25 | |
| Photos taken at Tamworth Road in June by Bob Williams | ||
As will be recalled, July was exceptionally hot and not conducive to hard physical labour, but work still continued each weekend, although numbers were somewhat down due no doubt to the weather as well as summer holidays. Bricklaying was completed on the roadside wall and, after vegetation clearance, the big job of installing shuttering boards along the 60 metre length to retain the backing concrete was also accomplished. In the garden, we finished the bricklaying on the back wall section for the towpath gap reinstatement, whilst good progress was made with brick cleaning to supply the front wall, and moving them to the site. Maintenance continued with strimming and weeding, repairs to the strimmer and mixer, and fitting extension feet to a platform for use as a temporary towpath bridge.
The weather in August was mercifully cooler, and progress was boosted by the London WRG visit on 5-6th August. After a late delivery on the Saturday, we successfully placed 6 cubic metres of readymix concrete to complete half the length of the roadside wall and moved round extra soil to support the shuttering on the other half. On the Sunday our gang removed the shuttering from the completed section, backfilled and levelled the roadside verge. Meanwhile, in the garden, the bricklayers made steady progress with the front section of the towpath wall and raised this half way over the weekend. A re-pointing job on the offside tail wall of Lock 25 was also finished off.
(There are some good photos of the London WRG dig on 5/6 August on Tim Lewis’s website. Click here to see them)
Holidays and wet weather then intervened and the only other work achieved to the end of August was to largely complete raking out the brickwork joints in the chamber of Lock 24, in the process discovering some rather ‘hollow’ sounding areas of brickwork that will need to be removed and replaced.
Our attendances started to recover in September and the first weekend saw us mixing concrete for the first lift of infill between the two leaves of the towpath wall, as well as a bit more soil moving.
Thanks are due to everyone who helped, including 8 from London WRG, and especially to our small group of regulars for keeping things moving; Keith, Brian, George, Barry, Clive, Simon, Bob, and Mick.
Regretfully, as a result of various issues, culminating in a reduction in the restoration budget, and a structural problem on site, I have now resigned as Work Party Organiser and this will be my last report in Cut Both Ways. Phil Sharpe
HATHERTON CANAL
Monthly work parties: Sundays; 19 November, 17 December, 21 January, 18 February, 18 March.
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.
Work Party News
Our happy team of eight, well provided with mechanical equipment, cut back heavy summer growth on towpath and hedge between Catsbridge and the M6 Motorway.
The towpath, which we built up last winter, between Saredon Mill and Oak Lane was re-levelled in areas where rabbits and foxes had dug up our good work.
It was noted that a stand of some ten trees – immature elm or hornbeam – near the picnic bench at Saredon Mill Bridge is now not just sickly but dead or dying. The following week I informed Paul Wilkinson, BW Ecologist at West Midlands Office of this as I consider the trees, at the side of the road and up to thirty five feet high, could become dangerous as they deteriorate over the next couple of years. I also wished to know, if we felled this winter, what we should replant that might not be similarly affected by any beetles or spores left on site. He could not give an opinion but offered to visit the site and report back.
HATHERTON CANAL WORKPARTY – SUNDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2006
Seriously – six were all we needed to cut back towpath and hedge growth from the Roman Way through to Cross Bridge, leaving all tidy and walkable.
NOW TO CONCLUDE. Paul Wilkinson came back to me on 25th September. He has visited site, thinks trees are field elm, agrees that we remove them but advises that we should not replant, other than fill hedge gaps, as it is possible that natural regeneration will occur over the years. If not, then decide what to plant. I accept this and can now schedule felling, logging and burning into our winter programme. Denis Cooper
Our regular date is the third Sunday of each month, from 10 am, with some occasional extra days as required. Contact Denis Cooper on 01543-374370 (work) for details of meeting places.
HATHERTON CANAL WORKPARTY – SUNDAY 20th AUGUST 2006
Another very hot day.
Only six volunteers today: holidays; illness; still boating back from the National; sick spouses; taking daughter back to Uni. You have never heard such excuses!
Make your own
Boatwoman’s Bonnet
Kits available from Sue Williams
01543 671427
£26.95 (includes p&p)
full instructions and all materials included
For more details Click here
To restore the Lichfield Canal and the Hatherton Canal to re-open waterway links between Staffordshire and the West Midlands, for the benefit of the environment, amenity and prosperity of the people of the Region and to enhance the nation's inland waterway system.
| Back to top of page |
| Back to current Cut Both Ways |
|
© L&HCRT Ltd. All other trademarks are acknowledged as belonging to their respective owners. All rights reserved. |
| Website designed by NelTek |
| www.neltek.com info@neltek.com |