News of two offers of help from the commercial world. DPD Deliver a £2,000 Fund Boost for the Lichfield Canal and the Smart Water Group help us following another break-in at Gallows Wharf.
First the good news...
Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust have received a special delivery – a £2,000 award from DPD's Eco Fund.
The Trust is restoring the seven-mile long Lichfield Canal and are currently creating a new channel alongside Falkland Road to replace the part of the route lost to new housing built after the canal was abandoned. As well as restoring the canal, the Trust's aim is to extend the Heritage Towpath Trail, which is proving increasingly popular with users enjoying safe country walks and creating a wildlife corridor. The work to create the new channel involves installing sheet piling, a well-proven long-term solution to water-containment.
While many sources of revenue have dried up because of Covid-19 restrictions, the Trust launched an appeal seeking donations in return for a rare opportunity for supporters to be publicly recognised by means of a brief inscription embossed onto a metal tag permanently attached to the sponsored pile eg a personal name, a pet or a club group. Having successfully applied for a share of DPD's Fund, the Trust will attach tags bearing the words DPD Eco Fund to piling on the Falkland Road section.
DPD, industry leaders in pursuing carbon neutral parcel delivery, have donated £142,685 to environmental projects since January, up to a maximum of £2,000 per project. The money is generated from the company's circular economy initiative to protect the environment. The plastic shrink wrap they use in their operation is broken down then recycled to create new shrink wrap, and they also re-use and recycle wooden pallets used in their depots.
Leanne McCain, senior finance manager, infrastructure and sustainability, DPD Group UK, said the judges loved LHCRT's application, which was a clear winner when it came to deciding who should receive a donation. Leanne, who lives on Falkland Road and brought the Eco Fund to the Trust's attention, also bought a personal tag embossed with her and husband Steve's names.
To find out more about LHCRT's 2020 Piling Appeal, please visit the website page at https://www.lhcrt.org.uk/2020piling.html
Tom Reid
In September, we were the victims of a second theft at Gallows Reach. It is very distressing to have to report yet another break-in and serious theft– this time to the shed in the Heras fenced compound at Gallows Reach. Apart from being another theft of significant value it also occurred under the watchful eye of the CCTV which Steve had installed. It therefore would have been tempting to think the police would quickly get on to identifying the vehicle and thieves – the van registration and full faces are very clear, despite it having been after 11pm. Our annoyance was then compounded when it was extremely time and effort consuming to secure any police attention. We all recognise the resource pressures the police are experiencing, but having such clear evidence surely could have prevented further crime. What more could we do?
Despite the cctv, the thieves blatantly took off with a few thousand pounds worth of our kit. Feeling outraged at this second attack, Christine posted part of the CCTV footage on facebook shortly after the theft had been discovered and we were immediately surrounded with support. The post was seen by 14,932 people and shared by 157, we truly felt your love that day. But the love didn’t stop there.
Now more good news! We were contacted, through Facebook, by James who is the finance director of Smart Water Group and lives near the canal route. He said: “We work with major infrastructure and building contractors and most organised crime gangs recognise and fear our branding. We can arrange for some free forensic marking and deterrent signage to be delivered.” Steve got on the case and he liaised with Rachael, the Smart Water Group head of sales and operations, who sent us this lovely package of free forensic marking kit. Each drop of SmartWater contains millions of invisible datasets which can be traced if stolen and is now on all our kits. We won’t be victims of theft any more! Huge thanks to James, Rachael and the Smart Water Group team for their support and generosity.
Christine Howles
CCTV of Thieves striking at Gallows Reach again. 23rd September 2020
Does anyone know these people? 😡
