 Since
the opening of the first lock of the Uttoxeter Canal at Froghall Basin
last July local interest in restoring the thirteen mile canal has soared
and initial interest talks have been held recently with Staffordshire
County Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and are
being followed in August with East Staffordshire Borough Council.
Consequently the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust has established the
Uttoxeter Canal Restoration Committee with responsibility to oversee and
co-ordinate this activity with the various interested bodies including
the Inland Waterways Association and all local authorities.
 The
Chairman of the new Uttoxeter Canal Restoration Committee and
Cheadle Town Councillor Mike Maryon (right) said, “Local support
is vital to canal restoration and we are pleased that residents
in the Staffordshire Moorland and East Staffs are keen to see
their canal brought back to life. The benefits to the local
community are tremendous as it would improve on existing local
resources of heritage and wildlife, whilst also providing a
means for rural regeneration of the locality bringing a host of
social, economic, cultural and environmental rewards to this
beautiful part of Staffordshire.”
He went on to say, “ Over the last year since
the opening of Froghall basin a Uttoxeter canal presentation
team of local volunteers has been giving talks on the history
and the benefits of restoration to many local groups in Cheadle,
Checkley, Leigh and Uttoxeter areas. These talks have led to a
surge of interest that has increased the number of volunteers
and supporters but we need more to help make this dream become a
reality. We are therefore looking for additional people to come
forward and help the Uttoxeter Canal Restoration Committee shape
the future of their community."
Please call Mike Maryon on
01538 723193 or Email him at
mike.maryon@gmail.com
if you would like to be part of this exciting initiative.
Background
to the Uttoxeter Canal restoration
The objectives of the Caldon & Uttoxeter
Canals Trust are to restore, preserve, maintain in good order
and improve the existing Caldon Canal and all the former arms of
the canal including the branch known as the Uttoxeter Canal (to
which the Caldon Canal is currently the only link) - for the use
and benefit of the public. Previously known as the Caldon Canal
Society, the organisation was formed by enthusiasts in 1963 in
response to notices closing the canal after traffic had declined
in the 1950s. Volunteers began the restoration works and in 1974
the Caldon Canal was reopened, the Society having been
instrumental in bringing about a partnership agreement between
Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and
British Waterways Board. This spirit continues today, with our
new title reflecting our extended aims. (Reg. Charity No.
259766)
The Trust's objectives with respect to the
Uttoxeter Canal are:
1. To preserve the line of the Uttoxeter Canal and maintain in
good order the structures and lengths of canal that still exist;
2. To promote the creation of a walking route along the length
of the Uttoxeter Canal utilising as much of the original towpath
as possible;
3. To investigate the feasibility of restoring to navigation
some or all of the Uttoxeter Canal.
Through achievement of these goals C&UCT hope
to protect from destruction and development the line of the
former Uttoxeter Canal – and also that of the North
Staffordshire Railway that was subsequently built along part of
the waterway. By preserving these routes throughout the Churnet
Valley the restoration of both a railway and waterway in the
former ‘double track’ corridor may be fully examined - in order
to create safe, sustainable ways for all to access, use and
explore the valley’s many stunning destinations: Cheddleton,
Consall, Froghall, Oakamoor, Alton, Crumpwood, Denstone and
Rocester.
Volunteers from the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals
Trust, Waterway Recovery Group and The Inland Waterways
Association commenced restoring the Uttoxeter Canal at Froghall
on 7 February 2003. The volunteers worked in partnership with
British Waterways on the £800,000 “Destination Froghall” rural
regeneration and restoration initiative in the heart of the
Churnet Valley. At Froghall the Caldon Canal terminates at its
former junction with the Uttoxeter Canal, in the shadow of
preserved limekilns where limestone was transhipped from the
Cauldon Lowe quarry tramways on to narrow boats and later the
North Staffordshire Railway - now the Churnet Valley Railway,
preserved and operated by volunteers.
On 23 July 2005 the restored first lock and
basin of the Uttoxeter Canal at Froghall were re-opened to
provide moorings for visiting boats, footpaths giving inclusive
access around the site, seating areas and sympathetic
landscaping including tree planting, wildlife habitat, a pond
and a stumpery. An important feature from the industrial
revolution has been saved from dereliction and brought back into
use to be enjoyed by local residents and visitors to
Staffordshire: The Canal County.
Government planning guidelines (PPG13) and
directives exist that should preserve the lines of former
waterways and railways from development that may hinder their
future restoration. |
