Executive Summary
A study into the feasibility of restoring the Hatherton Canal was undertaken by Ove Arup and Partners Limited between 2004 and 2006. The study was commissioned by British Waterways who were acting as agents for the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Trust.
The eastern end of the route Arup recommended would connect to British Waterways existing network at Grove Basin on the Cannock Extension Canal. The Cannock Extension Canal is designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) because of an extensive colony of rare Floating Water Plaintain.
Whilst the Trust wishes to have the restoration proposal incorporated into the Local Development Frameworks of the local authorities, the Environment Agency has indicated that the proposal could have an adverse effect on the Floating Water Plantain. They would therefore recommend that a full Environmental Impact Assessment should be required as part of the planning process.
In order to avoid adverse effects on the SAC, the Trust therefore reviewed the proposed route and identified an alternative which would avoid the SAC site altogether.
The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Limited has commissioned Atkins to undertake a supplementary study of this alternative route.
The study has been completed, and the key findings of the exercise are:
- The proposed alternative alignment is not only feasible, but a ground modelling exercise has shown it to be preferable to the original proposed alignment as it avoids a long, deep cutting through potentially contaminated spoil in the vicinity of the abandoned Wyrley No. 3 Colliery;
- The only significant “pinch point” is in the vicinity of the proposed crossing of Gains Lane, where the canal must pass under Gains Lane and over the Wash Brook; this will require localised raising of the carriageway around the proposed bridge by about two metres;
- No other specific engineering difficulties are envisaged – the main structures will be:
- The road bridge crossing Gains Lane
- Refurbishment or possibly replacement of the existing bridge carrying Fishley Lane over the derelict Lord Hay Branch canal
- Seven new locks, four of which will require tail bridges suitable for farm traffic and/or public rights of way
- One fixed accommodation bridge giving access from a track off Gains Lane to the former Wyrley No. 3 Colliery tip
- One lifting bridge for farm access north of Wyrley No. 3 Colliery
- Two main culverts carrying Wash Brook under the canal
- A number of secondary culverts carrying minor tributaries and drainage channels under the canal
- The change to the Arup cost estimate (£48.7 million) is a net reduction of £4.6 million due largely to the alternative route bypassing a long deep cutting through potentially contaminated mining spoil near Wyrley No.3 Colliery, and the consequent reduction in tipping charges.
- The revised cost estimate for the restoration of the entire Hatherton Canal, using Arup’s route from Hatherton Junction to Chainage 7+600, and the revised route from there to Fishley Junction, is therefore £44.1 million.
- Further and more detailed work could potentially identify areas where additional costs could be driven out, typically in terms of improving the “balance” of earthworks, which reduces the quantities of material to be imported or removed to off-site tip.
- Other than a small amount of additional silt disturbance which could be caused by a possible slight increase in the number of journeys made along the Cannock Extension Canal because of the potential of the restored Hatherton Canal to act as a trip generator, there will be no adverse effect on the water quality of the Cannock Extension Canal SAC site. Due to the potential for an impact on the SAC site an appropriate assessment screening under regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 is recommended.
- Changes to the water supply requirements of the revised proposal are small in comparison to the available supply: there would however be small increases in the lockage water consumption caused by the increased drop in the deepest lock, and in evaporative losses, due to the increased length of the revised route which is 11.4 kilometres long, 1.2 kilometres longer than the Arup route.
- The adverse environmental impacts of the scheme could be mitigated with careful design and management, and it should be noted that canal restoration schemes typically bring many environmental improvements to offset any adverse impacts. The key potential adverse impacts and potential mitigation are listed below:
- Landscape impact – the vertical alignment is generally at or close to existing ground level, with only one cutting (200 metres long) and two embankments (200 and 400 metres long) which exceed 2 metres in height
- Trees – the alignment passes through areas of scrubby woodland by the Wyrley No. 3 Colliery tip and around Gains Lane, but loss of habitat could be mitigated by improving management and additional planting in neighbouring areas, together with planting mixed species hedgerows to form new boundaries
- Flood risk – much of the revised alignment lies in the flood plain of the Wash Brook, but careful sizing of new culverts and other measures including potentially compensating for the loss of flood plain would be used in more detailed design stages to ensure that there will be no adverse effect on flood risk
- Nature sites – the MAGIC web-based interactive mapping system indicates that there are no designated nature sites of any kind within 100 metres of the proposed revised canal alignment. Appropriate searches for legally protected and notable species which might be affected should be carried out prior to any construction works.
- Built Heritage – the only significant item of built heritage identified close to the revised alignment is a retaining wall where Gains Lane crosses the former tramway from the Wyrley No. 3 Colliery. The revised alignment has been designed to avoid the wall, and it is anticipated that the carriageway raising required for the Gains Lane crossing could be detailed to avoid changes to this wall.
It is recommended that the revised alignment shown in the drawing 5079324-051 to 5079324-056 should be adopted for the restoration, subject to detailed design. Restoration using this alignment would avoid almost all of the potential; adverse environmental impacts on the Cannock Extension Canal SAC site which were associated with the previous proposed alignment.
A number of secondary recommendations are made regarding further work to develop the initial design outlined in this report. These include undertaking a Stage 2 Flood Risk Assessment and conducting an appropriate assessment screening of the remaining potential impact on the SAC site.
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