THE next major milestone in restoring the Lichfield Canal is getting underway.
A six-week programme of sheet piling is taking place at Gallows Reach off the Tamworth Road.
The work being carried out by Walsh Construction will form the new channel, with the company also continuing the construction of a concrete wall on the opposite side.
It follows extensive groundwork carried out by volunteers ahead of thew arrival of the specialist contractors.
The work has been funded by Lichfield District Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy grant.
Derek Lord, planning and technical trustee at Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, said:
“This is a key moment. Volunteers have worked tirelessly on the project so far and bringing in contractors for this specialist phase means we can keep momentum and have this first part of Gallows Reach in water by the summer.”
Volunteers from the trust will be working on the canal bed and carrying out bricklaying while the heavy engineering work is taking place.
For more details on the project at Gallows Reach, visit the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust website.
Can the canal trust please comment as to how they are going to seal the bed of the canal either with clay or concrete? The historical lining would have been degraded and punctured by big pipe. Without a lining it’s unlikely to hold water.
Great news, all eagerly awaiting the completion of the Darnford Park section, already fifteen years in the making with nothing to show but a hole in the ground.
And when it’s finished in god knows when, what purpose will it serve to warrant all the money that’s being thrown at it
Oh that’s brilliant. The canal project was talk and rumours when I was a 12 year old lad at King Edwards school. As keen fishermen me and my pals simply couldn’t wait for it to be done. Fishing almost on our doorsteps! This year I will be 50 years old. Come on fellas please get a move on, time is bowling on!
Reply to Dishy Des:
Darnford Park will be coming soon (we hope). We need to get funding and planning permission to get under the A38 before we do any more work there.
Our operational plan on our website sets out what we are doing and when, so it’s worth checking that if you’d like to know more.
Reply to Mac77:
We’d love your support – check out our website and social media to find out more and how you can help (and it doesn’t need to be by picking up a shovel). https://lhcrt.org.uk/
(Oh and we’re not all fellas, you know 😊 )
Reply to Fred Gronker:
When finished, the Lichfield Canal will deliver real environmental gains, new green spaces, and a boost to local tourism and business. It will offer safe, scenic traffic-free routes for walking and cycling, support biodiversity, and help create a more sustainable, connected, and welcoming Lichfield. It will also help to save the Wyrley and Essington Canal, by bringing more boat traffic through from Wolverhampton. (You can find out a whole lot more on our website https://lhcrt.org.uk/)