Registered Charity No. 702429
CUT BOTH WAYS WEBSITE ARCHIVES
The Magazine of the Lichfield & Hatherton
Canals Restoration Trust
Issue No. 54 - WINTER 2007-2008
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Registered Charity No. 702429 |
CUT BOTH WAYS WEBSITE ARCHIVES
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CHAIRMAN’S column
| The last few weeks of 2007 have seen a flurry of meetings and contacts. The workload of the Directors is unpredictable and periods of comparative quiet and routine can suddenly be followed by ones of considerable business. Recently, we have held a meeting with Tony Harvey, BW Midlands Manager, to discuss how BW might be able to help the Trust move its activities “up a gear” and try to act more strategically. It was a very useful and constructive session. Inevitably, BW is much constrained these days in what it can do but the basic advice was that the Trust needs a Feasibility Study for the Lichfield Canal to match the Arup report on the Hatherton. Of course, funding would have to be found for this and a careful sourcing of consultants to achieve maximum value for money. Much of the basic information is already held on file and so this may not be an insuperable task. | 
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Chairman’s column in CBW 53 provoked a surprising amount of interest and led to discussions with Richard Worrall who drafted a motion of support to be placed before Walsall MBC. Subsequently, he placed the following letter in the regional press:
Michael Fabricant deserves thanks and recognition for speaking up in the debate on Staffordshire’s canals, and in particular for the restoration of the Lichfield and Hatherton canals (“Post”, 12 December). He is a years-long supporter of the project that would transform Walsall and Brownhills from canal backwaters to focal points on the national waterway network, and re-link the Lichfield and Cannock areas with Birmingham’s canal network.
For too long, the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (LCHRT) has pushed the project forward with little or no support from the local authorities which stand to reap the sizeable economic and regeneration benefits of these restorations.
The Trust’s most notable achievement was to persuade MEL, the hardnosed builders of the M6 Toll, to allow for canal crossings at Churchbridge (a navigable culvert) and North of Brownhills (an aqueduct), which were fully charitably funded by the Trust.
This was a truly defining moment, for, without these canal crossings, the restoration project would have died there and then. And that is exactly what would have happened, had it been left to Walsall and their neighbour local authorities in Staffordshire. So a huge debt of gratitude is owed to the volunteers of the LCHRT.
I happen to think that the time has now come where the Trust should no longer have to soldier on alone. If the representatives of the communities in the areas of the West Midlands and Staffordshire that stand to benefit most are truly serious about these restorations, a partnership should now be established involving the Trust, the British Waterways Board, Walsall Council, Staffordshire County Council, Cannock Chase, Lichfield and South Staffordshire District Councils, and the Inland Waterways Association.
Only by working together will we have the strength to win and assemble the funding necessary to bring this laudable strategic project to a successful conclusion.
Richard Worrall
I am sure that this is just the kind of support we need if we are to push our project into the major league. The reference to Michael Fabricant was especially timely. Our Patron initiated another debate in Westminster Hall to focus on canals and the implications of the latest round of cuts to DEFRA funding. Part of the report in Hansard follows:
Tuesday 11 December 2007
Extract from Michael Fabricant’s Speech (with interventions)
The other effect of the (DEFRA) cuts is on the expansion of the network. Throughout the country, teams of volunteers from canal trusts and societies, supported by local councils, the lottery and even the Government, are working away to restore and reopen waterways that were neglected and left to decline following the second world war. They have been very successful. New business opportunities are created, as the hon. Members for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) and for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) said. The system can take more boats, and neglected parts of town and country are regenerated. Ministers are delighted to go along and open those new developments, but unfortunately they will have a few more free dates in their diaries if the cuts continue.
British Waterways has been critical in bringing canals back to life, but I fear for my local trust, the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. It was founded in 1988 to restore its two canals, with the wider purpose of pushing forward the regeneration of the underused and decaying canals north of Birmingham. They are classed as “remainder” canals, and they therefore receive only basic maintenance. By restoring those two canals, each about 7 miles long and abandoned in the 1960s, the trust could bring great benefits to Lichfield and other towns, and provide appealing connections to the main canal network. Nearby canals are almost too popular at peak times. There is a clear need to reopen those that are closed and to regenerate those that are underused and neglected – as any narrow-boater in peak season, queuing up to go through a lock, can testify.
It has fallen to the volunteers to initiate and carry forward that work, raising the funds themselves with very little support from official bodies. British Waterways has been supportive in times of difficulty, but it has neither the funds nor the resources following the recent funding cutbacks. During the past 10 years, the trust has brought £3 million of inward investment to southern Staffordshire, which was a huge task. In the past year, it has raised a further £240,000 to fund a crossing of the new Lichfield bypass. Such projects were forced on the trust by the imminent construction of new roads and the unwillingness of motorway builders and local authorities to bear the cost. It was a very heavy burden for a trust with 1,500 members and no access to major funding.
It is generally accepted that the restored canals will bring great benefits to the area and to the national economy, but there is no national political will even to assist with the costs. The Minister may be unaware of this fact, but volunteer work goes on every weekend to rebuild locks and to reconstruct the infrastructure that was lost almost half a century ago. Impressive progress has been made and more will follow, but it is clear that unless major cash injections can be found, neither the Lichfield nor the Hatherton canals will be open to traffic within the lifetime of many of those people who have already dedicated almost 20 years to the work. A whole generation of walkers, anglers, boaters and others will have missed out on an invaluable experience.
Will the Minister accept my invitation to come up to Lichfield and see some of the restoration work that has been undertaken, including the provision of attractive adjoining parkland? He is not nodding now, but I hope that he will nod in agreement when he responds.
Sir Peter Soulsby: May I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the excellent work of the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, and to its endeavour to create a link with the top end of the Birmingham canal navigations, which, as he rightly says, is so underused? Indeed, many similar trusts do similar work throughout the network. Does he agree that the potential for further cuts in the funding of British Waterways is, as much as anything, a major threat to its capacity to respond to such trusts, to help them with their regeneration work and to provide, where necessary, leadership and support for that work? That threat is at least as, if not more, important than the threat to capital expenditure directly. The support for those trusts is so valuable and it could be lost.
Michael Fabricant: That is a very valid point. I should not underestimate, however, the capital works to maintain the existing canal network. As good as the existing network is, it is a terrible shame that so many canals were filled in 50 or 60 years ago, because they now have to be reopened in order to complete the network and make it a living, interconnected whole, and the cuts will jeopardise that work.
The major restoration schemes that came to fruition in the previous decade, notably the Huddersfield narrow canal and the Rochdale canal, did so only when local authorities – supported by British Waterways, which is the very point that the hon. Gentleman made – finally saw that the volunteers needed serious backing. Partnerships were then constructed which were able to drive the schemes forward. It seems that in the current climate, much more is expected of the volunteers. What is needed is local council willingness to adopt restoration schemes and push them forward, instead of just cheering on the dedicated amateurs. However, the local government settlement, which the Government have just announced, means that councils are even more starved of cash.
Major national projects need major national funding. Canals are for everybody, not just for people lucky enough to have a boat. Restoring the Lichfield and Hatherton canals will bring enormous regeneration potential to the west midlands conurbation, as well as major benefits to much of Staffordshire. If reports prove to be true, the task may be even more difficult, as British Waterways’ shortfall has grown even bigger. Over the weekend of 17 to 18 November, we learned from the press that there were to be further cuts throughout DEFRA. Ministers are to be presented with £130 million of immediate cuts to DEFRA’s budget, with radical options for another £140 million of savings. Those cuts would affect all the Department-funded bodies, including British Waterways and the Environment Agency, and they would be an addition to the 5 per cent. year-on-year cuts that have already been mentioned.
(Click here for the full transcript of the Canals Debate)
December was certainly a busy month and we must be grateful to our many supporters for their help. We must look forward to 2008 with confidence and enthusiasm. It will see the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Trust which is a time of both rejoicing and reflection. We have reason to look back with some satisfaction with what has been achieved. We must reflect that there is still a major task ahead. L&H and its members have always risen to the challenges. Let’s go on doing so!
Brian Kingshott
MARKETING REPORT
| Now that winter is upon us, you might think that the Marketing Team could take a welcome break. But, such has been our success; we received invites to a number of events in the last few weeks of 2007 which kept us busy. | 
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Our usual wind-up event for the year is the autumn entertainment and this year’s event produced a number of complimentary comments from those attending. Our two entertainers, Doug Parker and Steve Ashcroft, kept a full house at Whittington laughing all evening. Their blend of humour and songs, together with Doug’s way of involving the audience, meant that everyone had an enjoyable evening. As ever, Pat Barton and Terry Robertson served up an excellent supper. The event was a sellout. Even without the usual bar, we raised £1030 for the Trust, just £20 less than in 2006.
The venue also saw the drawing of the winning tickets in our Grand Prize Draw. Congratulations to the lucky winners. Thanks are due to Trish Humphries who undertook to arrange the Draw this year (thus relieving Bob Williams of one task) and to all the businesses and individuals who donated the prizes.
As I said earlier, we had some new invitations this year. The first was to the Staffordshire Country Markets Open Day at the Stafford County Showground. This is essentially a Women’s Institute day and only a couple of charities are invited to take part, so we were very pleased to accept. Thanks to Sue Williams and Bobbie Battisson, we raised about £100.
We were also invited to take our stand to a showing of the film “An Inconvenient Truth” at Whittington Village Hall, which was organised by the Whittington & Fisherwick Environment Group. We were represented by Sue Williams, Bobbie Battisson and Hilary Smith, making sales of £50.
The third invitation was to have a stall at the Lichfield Christmas Fayre, organised by the Lichfield Chamber of Trade & Commerce. As this was held in the festive season, we were expected to decorate the stand and the staff. So, wearing our Christmas hats and reindeer antlers (complete with flashing lights and tunes), we sold mostly bric-a-brac, some quality Christmas ‘antiques’ and Trust promotional items. The event raised £170 for the funds and, in spite of the cold; I think the team enjoyed themselves. Our stand was overlooked by the good Dr Samuel Johnson himself and I fancy he approved of our efforts.
Our new ventures, the L&H calendars and the limited edition prints of Ted Hiscock’s painting have provided useful income contributions. We still have copies of the prints available so if you require one please contact Sue Williams.
We were expressing disappointment with our results mid-year but thanks to these extra events, and the success of the ‘500 Club’, the Marketing Group raised a record £13,500 for the Trust over the year. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who has been involved in this achievement.
We are now planning for 2008 and it is obvious that we are going to need extra volunteers if we are going to maintain our momentum. If you feel that you can help in any way, please get in contact with us.
David Moore
NEW MEMBERS TO 5th JANUARY 2008
| Mr P.A.Crecraft, Naseby, Northants | Mr R.Robbins, Lichfield
| Murray & Willis Ltd. Rawnsley, Nr Cannock | Mrs Z.M.Robbins, Lichfield
| Mrs J.H.Thorn, Wolseley Bridge, Staffs | Mrs K. Frankham, Hammerwich
| Mr & Mrs J.Potter, Costessey, Norwich |
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Membership 1201 ( Including 110 Life, 12 Joint Life, 12 Group, 19 Corporate)
Plus 473 Family, Total 1674
Covenanted Members 110; Gift Aid Members to date 1045
Membership rates are:
Adult £10; Family £15; Junior (under 18), Student, Retired or Unemployed £6;
Group (Clubs & Societies) £25; Corporate £200; Life Membership £200.
To join, please contact the Membership Secretary (see Contacts Page),
or you can join online on our Membership Application Page.
FUNDING NEWS
| ERDF grant At long last, the Government Office for the West Midlands paid the outstanding European Regional Development Fund grant retention of £77,908.00 in November. At a celebratory “Exit Strategy” presentation hosted by Cannock Chase District Council on 4th December 2007, all the local projects were given due prominence by “Wider Impacts Consultancy” who had undertaken a thorough review of achievements over the grant programme period since 2000. It is pleasing to report that the Lichfield & Hatherton earned more than their fair share of accolades for outstanding achievement through volunteer empowerment pitted against intransigent officialdom. At least we are now in a position to stage further projects which have been waiting in the wings. |
Staffordshire County Council Aggregates Levy grant
The way these things work, you have to have the funds to spend first, then they give it back to you! The Tamworth Road project is now well advanced to become the Borrowcop Locks Canal Park as much as possible by the Spring, earning the agreed grant of £36,000.
IWA grant
Also using ERDF capital, we have at last been able to have the off-side boundary wall between Lichfield Canal Pound 26 and the cottage garden built through a professional contract placed with Alan Roberts and supported by an Inland Waterways Association grant of £6,000. The extended tolerance by the resident is very much appreciated.
New opportunities
It is becoming apparent that the emergence of the British Olympic Games in 2012 are going to mop up so many charitable funding streams that the prospects look somewhat bleak. However, there are non-Olympic grant giving bodies still “open for business”. It is a question of matching need to opportunity, and that requires patient research, both internally and externally.
Having obtained the Arup Report for the Hatherton Canal, one of our greatest needs at present is funding a Feasibility Study of the Lichfield Canal. Several exercises undertaken over the years provide a strong basis, and much of the original route can still be used, but a professional report is essential to have the route reliably secured in the emerging Local Development Framework. Only then can we realistically expect to evolve an over-arching partnership to raise the required funding for restoration that will revitalise the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations. Those who tell us they cannot dig, could usefully support the Trust by desktop activity. Call me on 01543 671427 and we can take it from there.
Bob Williams Director (Finance)
Trust & Marketing
| IWA Northampton Branch (talk) | £100.00 | Late John H. King legacy residue | £967.24
| Coventry Canal Society | £100.00 | IWA Lichfield Branch; BCN BBQ | £250.00
| Mr D Bartley; Hammerwich WI talk fee | £100.00 | Mrs M Smith | £25.00
| Shenstone Gardening Guild (talk) | £50.00 | Mr D C Haywood (with sub.) | £50.00
| Club Peugeot UK (use of displays) | £25.00 | Mr S Judge (with sub.) | £25.00
| Mr C Riggs | £250.00 | Mr P J Smith (with sub.) | £50.00
| Mr J A Carr (with sub.) | £50.00 | Dr T Hollingworth | £130.70
| Mr J Moody (returned property rent) | £150.00 | Mr B Kingshott (returned expenses) | £699.98
| Mr P C Magee (returned expenses) | £75.00 | Mr R O Williams (returned expenses) | £32.00
| Aggregated donations below £20 each | £782.93 | |
| Restoration & Land Fund
| Mr & Mrs D F Oldfield, | in memory of the late Mrs Elsie Oldfield £150.00 | Mr David Stanistreet | £90.00
| Regular donors to appeals | £365.00 | |
| The David Suchet Appeal
| Mr A D Brookes | £100.00 | Regular donors to appeals | £1,126.00
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We are very grateful to the following for their assistance:-
- wrg North West volunteers assisting with Tamworth Road projects.
- John Horton for designing and ordering the new Lock 25 footbridge.
- Jack Moody Ltd for provision of sample concrete construction blocks.
- SCC Highways Dept. for provision of path surfacing material.
- Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd for clearing Darnford Brook, managed by Peter Magee and supervised by John and Stephen Burton (see photo below)
Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd clearing weed from the Darnford Brook,
29th December 2007 (Photo by Bob Williams)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We regret to record the loss of our member:-
Mrs P J Taylor, Muckley Corner, Lichfield
who died 24th December 2007.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the 18th Annual General Meeting of The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Ltd.
AGENDA Note 1: A member entitled to attend and vote is entitled to appoint a proxy. A Form of Proxy can be obtained from the Company Secretary (Sue Williams), to whom they should be returned at least 48 hours before the time appointed for the meeting.
Note 2: A summary of the 2007 Annual Accounts is available on this website (Click here for accounts). Any member wanting a copy of the full accounts in advance of the meeting should contact the Treasurer, Bob Williams.
Note 3: Non-members are welcome to attend but can not vote at the AGM.
LICHFIELD CANAL
will be held at Whittington Village Hall, Main Street, Whittington, near Lichfield, Staffordshire
on Friday 25th April 2008 at 7.15 pm.
(a) Directors retiring by rotation and eligible for re-election:
Trevor Morris
Bob Williams
David Moore
(c) Any other nominations received
WORKING PARTIES
NEWS & DATES
Our regular date is the first Sunday of each month, from 10 am, although it is quite normal to find some of our own volunteers there every weekend. 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 2008: | |||||||||||||
| January: | Sunday 6
| February: | Sunday 3, Essex WRG Sat/Sun 2/3, KESCRG Sat/Sun 9/10
| March: | Sunday 2
| April: | Sunday 6
| May: | Sunday 4
| June: | Sunday 1
| July: | Sunday 6
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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
Photographs elsewhere in this issue show the urgent progress made at Tamworth Road through the winter weeks, laying down 120 metres of concrete foundation to rebuild the towpath wall along part of Pound 27 of the Lichfield Canal. Then we have a trick up our sleeve for rapid construction to form a suitable “towpath” for the Borrowcop Locks Canal Park. Considerable help came from waterway recovery group North West volunteers in the second week-end of December, braving appalling weather for this work and clearing a large area of woodland where a public path will connect with the main road.
But it’s our own team, led by Brian Davis whose career experience in construction site work is invaluable, who have excelled in translating theoretical advice and ground conditions into real achievement. The Directors thank the other regulars Barry, Keith, Clive, Simon, Alan, Adrian, George, Jim, Neil for their efforts, often joined by others when they can make it.
Additionally, we are very pleased that John Horton (the Trust’s former Lichfield Canal Project Director) took up the challenge of collating quotations, refining the design and placing an order locally for economical construction of a new permanent footbridge over the tail of Lock 25. In the background, we have professional support from Fira Landscape Ltd whose competent design work has been particularly valuable in supporting our Planning Application to Lichfield District Council. Staffordshire County Council Highways Dept. have helped with surfacing materials and woodland licensing. Given the rate of progress, we hope to hold a ceremonial “opening” of the new public facility during the Lichfield Twinning week-end at the end of April 2008.
In preparation for the Pound 26 boundary wall, what seemed like a simple task of removing the remaining trunk of the silver birch in the channel proved to be a challenge. Having excavated all around, and the gang severed the roots, it still would not surrender to heavy dumper pulling and digger pushing. Eventually, it became clear that the tree had a two-tier root system, probably dating back to when it first rooted in the canal bed, then after being infilled around grew another set of roots higher up! See the photographic evidence.
Lichfield Canal land purchase
Acquisition of part of the field between Lock 26 and the Tamworth Road for future diversion of the canal has gone ahead and the land suitably fenced off so that a footpath can run right through the Borrowcop Locks Canal Park. Meanwhile, we turn our attention to the more difficult strategic elements of creating a new canal channel that must pass under the A51 and A38 roads to connect with Huddlesford Junction. It’s easy to say, but…….
 Ground clearance for Pound 27 towpath wall foundation 4th November 2007 | Brian Kingshott joins the gang completing Lock 26 bywash outfall 1st December 2007  wrg North West brave the mud on the next section of Pound 27 foundation 9th December 2007
|  Half the Pound 27 towpath wall foundation laid 9th December 2007 wrg North West clearing the SCC woodland to prepare for a new footpath 9th December 2007
|  Part of the new footpath to pass through the Borrowcop Locks Canal Park 9th December 2007  Approximate position where Pound 26 off-side boundary wall is now being built
|  Removing the silver birch stump in Pound 26 revealed two layers of roots 5th January 2008 (photos by Bob Williams)
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Bob Williams
HATHERTON CANAL
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.
Monthly work parties 2008: Sundays; 20 January, 17 February, 16 March, 20 April, 18 May, 15 June, 20 July.
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Denis Cooper and the "Hatherton crew" busy with towpath clearance in December 2007
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|  Denis Cooper, Joe Farren, Clive Hensman, John Clarke, Vic Stanway and Bill Cole enjoying mince pies and sherry at the pre-Christmas work party. (photos by Barry Kenn)
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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.
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