RESTORATION UPDATE- October2009
British Waterways will be taking over the maintenance of the Barge Canal from DCT in November. Once this has been formalised, BW will manage the canals from Gloucester along with the whole mid-Worcestershire ring. The Restoration Partnership hopes that DCT volunteers will continue to have an input into the restoration of the canals.
A steering committee has been set up to guide the Trust following the completion of the restoration. An initial report will be presented to a Members’ meeting to be held in the Community Centre, Heritage Way on Thursday 29 th October. We will be having discussions before then with our partners in order to find out what practical volunteer work can be undertaken.
The River Severn entrance was successfully restored in early August and a landing stage is to be built on the southern river bank to accommodate waiting craft. The A449 is due to be completed this month, and dredging the remaining stretch of the Barge Canal will start. The entire Barge Canal is on target for completion next spring.
All of the locks on the Barge Canal are nearing full restoration, with gates being fitted by the BW team as work is completed. Volunteers are working on the completion of ladder recesses on locks 7 and 6 (recently 1 and 2) at Ladywood.
Numbering bridges and locks has started with the creation of plates to match the remaining few plates discovered during the clearance of Lock 1 (more recently numbered Lock 8), the river lock, and the one on Salwarpe Bridge. The locks will be numbered from the River to Droitwich, a return to the original system.
The Gateway Park at the junction of the B4090 and the track to Droitwich Rugby Club opened on Salt Day (September 12 th). The towpath on the new Junction Canal is officially open with tree planting being undertaken this winter with assistance from volunteers.
The Pamela May trip boat has been very popular this year, and the Salt Day events were no exception. On what was arguably the best day of the summer, the Pamela May took around 400 people on trips along Vines Park raising £265. The Duck Race raised £238, and the two main prizes were claimed on the day.
Margaret Rowley,
Chairman, Droitwich Canals Trust