Thirty Five Years in the life of The Droitwich Canals Trust
In this edition, members are requested to turn their thoughts towards the future of DCT after we achieve our primary objective of full restoration. I know that some members have supported us loyally through the life of the Trust, but others have joined more recently. This article is a thumbnail history of DCT, originally written for another Restoration Trust in its early days. However, it may be of interest to DCT members in their deliberations.
The Droitwich Barge and Junction Canals were legally abandoned in 1939 with the residue of the land conveyed to the Borough Council, later to become Wychavon District Council. This meant that, with a few exceptions, the line of the canals was safeguarded and hopes for their restoration were kept alive through the 1940s. The Droiwich Canals Trust Ltd was incorporated on 5 th September 1973 and this was rapidly followed by major progress on the restoration of the Barge Canal. Early projects such as the ‘Droitwich Dig’ were supported by large numbers of volunteers with quite sophisticated equipment. Between 1968 and 1984 some 300,000 tons of mud were dredged out of the canal and used to rebuild towpaths and embankments. Lock chambers were rebuilt and lock gate built in the DCT workshops. The entire summit pound from Droitwich Town to Ladywood was restored by Spring 1984.
In common with most restoration projects, it is difficult to maintain the same level of activity without a constant influx of new volunteers and although progress continued, it is fair to say that less was achieved over the next 15 years. This was accompanied by a gradual reduction in the support from local people who began to believe that full restoration would never happen. Throughout this period, the project had always been well supported by the IWA with money and expertise and this eventually led to several new directors being appointed to move it forward. Around 10 years ago, the DCT Council changed its strategy with a realisation that full restoration would only be achieved through a partnership which would be in a stronger position to obtain major grants. Initial discussions with British Waterways and The Waterways Trust obtained conditional support and this led to the formation of the Droitwich Restoration Partnership made up of DCT, BW and TWT along with the District and County Councils. A full feasibility study followed and this enabled various bids for funding to be submitted towards the projected cost of £11.5 million.
Obtaining grants is never easy, particularly as each funder will require some assurance that the rest of money can be obtained before committing themselves, something of a ‘catch 22’ situation. Following a considerable period of difficult negotiations, we were able to confirm around £10.5 m of the required sum from Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands, the two Councils and several other small awards. Fund raising has continued though other grants and public and private donations to reduce the deficit by half.
During this period, volunteer work continued with a new impetus and our stalwarts putting in many hours of work which gradually increased local support. We were awarded the IWA ‘Neil Pitts legacy in 2002 and this enabled the 3 Hanbury locks to be fully restored by Waterways Recovery Group and local volunteers. It has always been our commitment to restore to the highest possible heritage standard and these locks, recognised as some of the finest on the narrow canal system, are certainly examples of this. Training of our volunteers is an important aspect and has included hedge laying, stone dressing, construction of badger holts and other environmental work. As well as the more physical work, volunteers are essential for many tasks such as running our sales and publicity stand, guided walks and talks, community and education projects and manning our trip boat. To many waterways enthusiasts, the main objective of the Trust should be to return the canals to full navigation but we have realised that this is only part of the task. Involving the local community through a wide range of activities is essential to increase support, both physical and financial, but also to meet the targets that are set by our funders.
Whilst the input of volunteers is essential, full restoration in a reasonable timescale can only be achieved by using professional skills and contractors. A full project team was set up under the BW Gloucester Office and this has progressed the project through full planning stage to detailed design. Planning approval may seem straight forward for what is predominantly a restoration of an existing canal but that turned out to be far from the case. Numerous environmental, archaeological and other issues had to be resolved before this was achieved. All that is now behind us and contracts are progressing towards full completion by Spring 2009.
Ivor Caplan