On 26th October 2006 our Vice-President and renowned Poirot star David Suchet OBE visited Lichfield with his wife Sheila, to view progress at our various restoration sites, and publicise the start of work on the canal culvert under a new roundabout on Birmingham Road. The visit began with lunch at The Boat Inn near Muckley Corner, where Ann Holden and her staff made us very welcome and the food, as ever, was delicious. Whilst there David carried out a live telephone interview for BBC Radio WM's Ed Doolan Show, speaking about our restoration project and expressing his deep concern about the government's recent drastic cut in grant to British Waterways and the Environment Agency, which seriously threatens the future of our inland waterways. He made particular reference to the future of restoration projects, such as the Lichfield and Hatherton, that BW was currently supporting.

We are always looking for more volunteers (you might have noticed), so we were delighted when the leader of the 1444th (Brownhills) Squadron Air Training Corps approached Mike Battisson at the Brownhills Canal Festival in June asking whether the cadets might be able to do some voluntary work to help the Trust.

We agreed that the majority of the group would be too young for physical restoration work (Health & Safety rules etc.) but their offer of help was gratefully accepted, and they happily agreed to take care of the bulk mailing of the next issue of Cut Both Ways.

Issue 48, plus envelopes, stamps and address labels were duly collected from Bob Williams and efficiently processed at the group HQ in Brownhills. Our thanks go to all of them for a job well done and we look forward to their help again with the next issue.

The names of the cadets who helped out are (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)

At the Historic Narrowboat Rally at Braunston Marina on 24/25 June, marina owner Tim Coghlan made a number of donations of £250 to the canal societies at the show. The cheques were presented on Tim's behalf by waterway pioneer and IWA Vice-president Mrs Sonia Rolt, who also opened the show.

Sonia Rolt was one of the women canal volunteers of WW2, which led to her lifelong interest in the development and protection of Britain’s inland waterways. She is the widow of the late Tom Rolt, one of the founders of The Inland Waterways Association.

The Mayor of Lichfield Cllr Colin Greatorex (right) and Deputy Mayor Cllr Mike Fryers (left) visit the Lichfield & Hatherton stand at the Lichfield Bower on a very wet Bank Holiday Monday. A very big thank you to Trish Humphries for organising the tent and the stand. She had a great, hardworking team and we would like to thank them all - Bobbie and Mike Battison, Beverley and Paul Marshall, Jean and Terry Brown, Barry Kenn, George Simonczyk, Lynn Evans, Peter Lee and Kathryn Humphries. Special thanks to those who arrived about 8:30am and stayed all day! In spite of the terrible weather - monsoon and mini hurricane!?! they still managed to raise £130.

(Photos by Barry Kenn)

Perhaps we should have called it "Royal Cappers Bridge", as it was formally opened on the Queen's 80th birthday on 21st April 2006! Years of planning and fund-raising, months of construction work, weeks of organising all came together when some 100 invited guests, Trust members and public met to celebrate this notable achievement in opening the way for the Lichfield Canal to pass under Cappers Lane between Lichfield and Whittington.

And here's the instant replay ....

The 16th Annual General Meeting of the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust was held at Whittington Village Hall at 7.15 p.m. on 21st April 2006.

48 members were present for the meeting chaired by Trust Chairman Brian Kingshott. Minutes of the 15th AGM were approved and signed and the Directors' Report for 2005 was given by Secretary Sue Williams.

The Chairman delivered a stirring report of the Trust's activities in the year 2005. To see the Chairman's Report and Directors' Report click on the links below.

On behalf of the members the President then offered congratulations and a vote of thanks to Brian Kingshott for seeing the Trust through a difficult year.

In accordance with the Trust constitution Phil Sharpe, Mike Smith and Sue Williams were retiring as directors. Phil Sharpe had previously declared his intention to stand down. Mike Smith and Sue Williams offered themselves for re-election. Acceptance of these two nominations was proposed by Rob Davies, seconded by George Simonczyk and approved by a show of hands from the floor. There were no votes against. No other nominations had been received.

The President concluded the proceedings with a vote of thanks to the Directors and Officers for their hard work over the past year.

At last Cappers Bridge is completed and open to traffic. After a much delayed start due to prolongued land negotiations, the contractors, McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd, have made excellent progress and completed the job well within the expected time frame.

This removes the first obstruction beyond the navigable section of canal at Huddlesford and we look forward to the time when we will be able to extend the restoration nearer to the city of Lichfield.

Following the afternoon celebrations, the Trust AGM will follow at 7.15pm. Non-members are welcome to attend but can not vote at the AGM.

Latest news on expected date of completion. Fortunately weather conditions have been favourable and work is well ahead of schedule at this stage. The McPhillips works should be completed by about 20th March, after which there will be more subcontractors work to be done - fencing, tree and hedge planting, etc. The County Council has decided that the road should not be opened until after this has been done as it would be necessary to put different traffic management control in for the safety of those workers. They expect to open the road 'about the end of March'. We are grateful to the residents of Whittington for their patience and forbearance during construction.

Photos by Bob Williams

The start of 2006 sees two significant steps forward for the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. In a sense both of these represent the unlocking of the Lichfield Canal, one at each end.

The work to rebuild Cappers Bridge between Lichfield and Whittington is going well and is set to be finished by the end of March. The original bridge was levelled after the canal was closed to navigation but is now being rebuilt to enable the restored canal to pass through. The design is a modern one but is sympathetic to the canal environment. The work is funded by money from a European Regional Development Fund grant. The Trust hopes that, in due time this will unlock access to the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford Junction.

At the northern end of the Lichfield Canal the Trust has been able to buy a canalside cottage including part of a lock. This is a significant step towards connecting the restored Lichfield Canal to the main Birmingham canal system. We are grateful to the generosity of Sir John Smith and the Manifold Trust for making a significant donation which has made the purchase possible.

Chairman of the Trust, Brian Kingshott said “These are very important steps forward for the L & H. Despite some problems which were reported last Autumn we are totally confident that the Lichfield Canal can and will be fully restored. The benefits to Lichfield and the surrounding areas will be enormous.”

9th January 2006

Gerry & Norma Graham hand over the ceremonial key to Bob & Sue Williams