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Issue 37 Autumn 2021 www.waterways.org.uk/lichfield
Lichfield Lines
Walkers on the Staffs & Worcs Canal (see Page 6)
The newsletter of IWA Lichfield Branch
The Inland Waterways Association is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country's 7,000 miles of canals and navigable rivers. The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this magazine but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy, or as an official pronouncement, unless specifically identified as such. The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 612245. Registered as a charity no. 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk
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Branch Chairman’s Report - October 2020
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Chairman’s Report I hope this finds you well and you have managed to get out and about at the end of the summer and autumn. The nights are definitely closing in now but the weather is still mild for October. There has been a lot happening since the last issue. The lock wind in August was a great success (see page 4) and in September we had our first live public meeting since February 2020 (see page 6). Phil Clayton was entertaining as always and we had a good attendance. Consecutive weekends in August saw the Crick Boat Show and the IWA Festival of Water at Worcester. Both were a great success although with a reduced number of stands. Sue and I manned the IWA Sales stand at both of these events and had a busy time selling guide books maps and especially Christmas Cards (in August!) and helped to sign up some new members. Also in August our committee member Adrian Wedgwood had a “significant” birthday and at the celebrations he asked the guests rather than giving presents would they give a donation to the Branch, (see page 6). Although the Branch was not able to attend, I understand the Brownhills Canal Festival was also a great success. This year it was organised by the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (L&HCRT) taking over from the Birmingham Canals Navigation Society (BCNS). This year we are organising a Branch Christmas Dinner on the 12th December at Thyme Kitchen (formerly Mabels), Curborough Countryside Centre, Watery Lane, Curborough, Staffs, WS13 8ES. The details and menu can be found in the centre pages of the magazine. If there is anybody out there with experience of Social Media we could do with somebody to post things to Facebook on behalf of the Branch. This would not necessarily be a committee post and would not involve many posts. Please contact me if you can help. We have been boating for the last couple of weeks and the October weather has been very kind. It’s not so kind as I write this as it is currently raining and blowing hard. We spent most of the time on the South Oxford canal and it is still very busy with moorings at a premium in popular spots like Cropredy and Fenny Compton. It has been a very enjoyable couple of weeks Water Buffalo at Napton despite having a bit of trouble
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finding diesel and also being held up by a broken gear cable. Fortunately an engineer from Tooley’s boatyard in Banbury came and sorted it out for us. One interesting encounter was a field full of water buffalo near Napton. The meat is sold at Napton Village Stores. We didn’t sample it this time but we did partake in one of the incredible breakfasts. Another less interesting encounter was with the destruction being caused by HS2 on the peaceful Wormleighton summit pound of the Oxford canal. It seemed to go on for miles. I look forward to seeing you at some of our Winter events. All the Best Pete Gurney 19th October 2021 Forthcoming Events Wednesday 17th November 2021 Meeting—Neil Barnett “River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal by Narrowboat” Branch member Neil Barnett gives another talk on one of his expeditions in his narrowboat. This time it will be an account of the Mersey crossing to Liverpool plus an update on some of his previous travels on the Manchester Ship Canal. Meet at 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start at Martin Heath Hall, Christchurch Lane, Off Walsall Road, Lichfield WS13 8AY Thursday 18th November 2021 Walk—Market Bosworth and the Ashby Canal This is a circular walk that includes one easy descent and one gentle climb on public footpaths, a quiet country road, and the towpath. It is 4½ miles in length and includes six stiles. Starting in the historic market square of Market Bosworth we proceed downhill, first passing The Dixie Grammar School and then Market Bosworth Community School, before continuing across a disused golf course. Soon after crossing a heritage railway line, we join the Ashby Canal at bridge 43. We follow the towpath northwards to bridge 44, where we leave the canal to walk a short distance along Congerstone Road. Here, we pass through a gap in the hedge to pick up a footpath that will take us to the village of Carlton, crossing the railway for a second time. From there we follow the Leicestershire Round long-distance footpath most of the way back to our starting point.
Meet 10:15 for a 10:30 start on Thursday 18th November 2021 in the car park of Ye Olde Red Lion Hotel, 1 Park Street, Market Bosworth, Leicestershire CV13 0LL NB There are public toilets in Back Lane, alongside the Dixie Grammar School. We will pass these conveniences shortly after setting off.
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Contact Clive Walker on 07866 2019873 or clive.walker@waterways.org.uk Sunday 12th December—Branch Christmas Dinner See centre pages for the details of this event.
Save the Date Wednesday 19th January, 16th February, 16th March and 20th April 2022 We will be continuing our public meetings in 2022, speakers to be advised. Recent Activities Sunday August 1st— Lockwind at Barton Turn
Selection of Cakes for sale
After not being able to have this event last year and the fact that the previous attempt in 2019 had to be abandoned
due to the appalling weather this time the weather was cool but pleasant. Branch members had been busy baking cakes for the event so the stall was really well stocked for the day. We had
Derek & Helen having a break between boats
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a steady stream of boats coming through with the group helping them through the lock, chatting to them about the IWA and trying to sell them cakes. We also managed to sell cakes to passing walkers, cyclists and customers of the Barton Turns pub. As well as raising a good sum for branch funds it was really good to be able to chat to people most of which we hadn’t seen for 18 months. When the boat traffic had died down in the late afternoon the volunteers adjourned to the barbecue area of the Barton Turns pub and enjoyed some great food ably organised and cooked by Derek Beardsmore. Thanks to Helen Whitehouse for doing most of the organisation and to the members (and non members) who contributed cakes. Report by Pete Gurney. Photos by Margaret Beardsmore and Miroslava Holmova 20th-22nd August 2021—Crick Boat Show This weekend in August the delayed Crick Boat Show was held. The usual date is Spring Bank Holiday weekend but obviously this couldn’t happen. IWA had a Sales Stand by the marina and we were kept busy all weekend selling the usual combination of maps, guides, books, Christmas cards and clothing. We also signed up a good number of new members. Unfortunately, our usual Stand manager, Ray Carter, had sadly passed away shortly before the event and his organisation at the event was greatly missed. Ray had held senior positions in the IWA for many years and he will be missed by the whole organisation. 28th-30th August 2021—IWA Festival of Water This years Festival was held at Perdiswell Park alongside the Staffs and Worcs Canal in Worcester. This had also been the venue for the cancelled 2020 show. There was a cool breeze for most of the weekend but the locals turned out in force and we had many compliments about the show. The Sales Stand Perdiswell Park boats had a good weekend selling maps books and guides as well as a lot of Christmas Cards. It was also good to catch up with people from around the country we hadn’t seen since the last Festival in 2019.
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Wednesday 15th September 2021—Meeting This was our first public meeting since February 2020 and it was a welcome return to Martin Heath Hall. Zoom meetings were a great way to keep everybody in contact during lockdown but it was great to be able to meet face to face and chat with people during the interval. We even had two members from the East Riding Branch who had seen a poster whilst cruising on the Ashby and decided to come along. Phil Clayton was entertaining as always, this time with a very different subject “Walking, Cruising and Musing along British Rivers”. This chronicled his boating trips on the rivers and also his walking trips to find the source of some of them. Fascinating! Phil had even written a book on the subject. Thursday 16th September 2021—Walk from Shareshill On 16th September we had our latest IWA ‘Clive’ walk from Shareshill, except that Clive couldn’t make it due to a leg problem. I was given the dubious task of following Clive’s plan! A turnout of 12 people set off from car park of the Elms Public House, Church Road. With the weather being kind to us we followed a route along lanes, tracks and the towing path of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
Walkers on the Staffs & Worcs Canal
We all survived the five miles and returned for lunch at the Elms. Sadly the service did not live up to the lovely setting. Report by Derek Beardsmore, photo by Margaret Beardsmore
My Support for the Stafford Riverway Link—Adrian Wedgwood With Maz, my wife, and our two sons we lived alongside the Staffs & Worcs canal at Meadow Ridge, Stafford, for many years whilst I was responsible for trade technical services at Bass M&B in Birmingham & then as Area Director for the brewery's tenanted pubs in Staffordshire. The Sun Inn in Stafford now owned, along with The
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Adrian presenting the cheque to SRL Chairman Mike Price and John Potter
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Bod at Weeping Cross, by Titanic Brewery in Burslem (whose owners once ran the Scout Outdoor store in Mill Street), was my favourite. Work then took us to Bradford on Avon on the Kennet & Avon Canal & then back to Staffordshire & Barton under Needwood close to the Trent & Mersey Canal. My family's name is inextricably linked with our canal system. Josiah Wedgwood, 18th Century entrepreneur, member of the Royal Society, slavery abolitionist, Lunar Society visionary and world-famous potter from Burslem then Etruria & later Barlaston was the principal promoter of the Trent & Mersey Canal & funded the Act of Parliament granted on the same day as that for the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. He was also grandfather to Charles Darwin. In present day terms Wedgwood's revolutionary vision must rank with the subsequent development of the railways, our motorway network & the Channel Tunnel! Keen to get his products to wider markets at home & abroad Wedgwood was, in 1766, the first treasurer of the Trent & Mersey Canal and later funded the Caldon Canal to provide raw materials to his works. Opening the new canal to the Mersey & Humber ports helped not only Wedgwood but the brewers of Burton whose ales became favourites of Russia's Catherine the Great in exchange for which high grade Memel oak was imported for coopering casks. Canals are in my blood. Since my early retirement we've 'boated' most of the connected system, including to London, throughout the Midlands, the Leeds & Liverpool, Bridgewater, Shropshire Union, Trent & Mersey, Ashby, Grand Union, Macclesfield, Huddersfield Narrow, Rochdale, Lee, Gloucester & Sharpness, Fossdyke, Adrian presenting the cheque to Mike Price (Chairman SRL) and John Potter
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Droitwich, Langollen & 'Monty' plus the Avon & tidal Thames & Trent. One proud owner of a magnificent newly painted narrowboat who reluctantly shared a lock with us 'hire boaters' on discovering our experience proclaimed 'you've been to many more places than most owners' and asked to join us in the locks ahead! Sadly, my wife's severe stroke and my advancing years have restricted our boating and this year's two weeks on the Caldon Canal was our 'swansong' cruise. When recently throwing a big party to celebrate my milestone birthday I invited our 80 guests to donate funds to the IWA in lieu of gifts so canal restoration projects in Staffordshire could be supported. That appeal has generated so far some £800 (including Gift Aid recovery). Knowing the area well, being impressed with the progress made and the prospect of seeing the new basin in water during my life-time I requested that the Branch donates the proceeds to the Stafford Riverway Link. A restoration project certain to achieve its objectives. My aim is that this and use of my family name will encourage others to support this visionary project. Planning Matters This report summarises the more notable of about 50 planning matters dealt with between mid-July and mid-October 2021. More details are available on request. On the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal at Coven Heath we objected to two proposed garages and a relocated caravan on the travellers site as being too close to the canal’s Conservation Area, and this has now been refused. By the Trent & Mersey Canal at Weston the detailed plans for 3 houses given consent in 2017 should maintain open access to the Salt Works Canal Arm as shown on the outline plans. At Pasturefields, a proposed travellers site would have 3 plots, each with a large ‘mobile’ home (static caravan), a tourer caravan and an amenity block which, despite some tree and hedge planting, would visually impact the setting of the canal’s Conservation Area. At Bromley Hayes, conversion of the former garden centre to a national office and construction plant storage facility for the CRT contractors Land & Water has now been approved. East of Fradley Junction and to the north of Common Lock, the controversial sand and gravel quarry and concrete processing plant to supply HS2 has also now been approved. On the Coventry Canal at Whittington, the plans for 3 houses that we objected to as threatening the stability of the historic canal embankment have now been amended and no longer require excavation into the embankment. At Nuneaton, detailed plans for the approved large housing site at Gipsy Lane show a
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canalside landscaping buffer with houses facing the canal across access roads, and footpath connections to the towpath. But some of the canalside houses are 3 storeys, contrary to the Borough Plan policy, and should be reduced to 2 storeys. On the Ashby Canal we have objected to a ‘solar farm’ which would cover a large area of countryside on both sides of the canal for 1km south of the A5 at the Limekilns to between bridges 14 and 13. The 3m high solar panel arrays would be very visible on rising ground and only
View to the West of the Ashby Canal
partly screened by the towpath hedge and offside trees. This visually intrusive power station would damage the canal’s rural heritage, amenity, recreation value and visitor economy and would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt. However, if consented it should be conditional on reinforced towpath hedge and offside screen planting. [The photos show views of some of the 18 fields to the east and the west that would be covered in solar panel frames.] On the Ashby Canal restoration route at Oakthorpe, the housing at Springfield Farm has now been approved with a safeguarded corridor for reinstatement of the canal. View to the East of the Ashby Canal
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However, the drainage plan shows new foul and storm water sewers within the canal land which we have asked to be relocated. At Measham an application to continue car boot sales on a site using access across the protected restoration route should be conditional on an alternative access being provided at six months notice. Several parts of the BCN are affected by the latest Draft version of the Black Country Plan which covers all four Black Country local authorities; Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Dudley. We have supported the Canals Policy ENV7 which includes development principles for canalside sites that protect navigation, heritage, habitat, visual amenity, water quality and access, promotes recreation and high quality design, and provides residential moorings guidance. It also protects disused canal features and includes restoration route safeguards which are most welcome, but we have said the text should be amended to specifically mention the Lapal Canal, the Fens Branch, the Bradley Canal and the Hatherton Canal restorations as long term projects. However, the Plan also includes site allocations for both housing and employment and we have objected in principle to removing several large canalside sites from the Green Belt as Strategic Development Allocations. Loss of their countryside setting damages canals tourism potential and their economic benefits. If allocated, it is important to protect the canals by sensitive design, layout and landscaping, in accordance with ENV7. There are two major housing site allocations in Walsall alongside the Wyrley & Essington Canal at Sandhills and at Yorks Bridge, and an employment site between the Anglesey Branch and the A5. There are further housing sites alongside the Rushall Canal near Longwood, and at Yew Tree just over the border in Sandwell. We have said that these should all include broad buffer zones of undeveloped and landscaped land alongside the canal. The Sandhills site includes the disused Sandhills Branch which could be re-watered as an environmental corridor, and possibly restored to provide some residential boat moorings. A further site at Yieldsfield Farm includes much of the Lords Hayes Branch as a nature conservation area and it could be re-watered in conjunction with restoration of the Fishley section as part of the Hatherton Canal route. Although the Lichfield Canal restoration is supported in the final Publication version of the Lichfield Local Plan 2040, our representation asks that it revert to a separate policy and it should include additional text about infrastructure provision. There are also several errors in the supporting text and the route mapping that should be corrected. Plans for the commercial site between Birmingham Road and the railway have been changed to a nursery school which leaves sufficient space for the new canal channel and towpath access ramp. Phil Sharpe, Planning Officer
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Editorial Notice Lichfield Lines is the newsletter of IWA Lichfield Branch, it is produced 4 times a year to keep members informed about our forthcoming public meetings, walks, work parties and other activities, to provide reports on recent meetings and events, and to include articles of general interest to our members. The editor, Peter Gurney, welcomes articles, letters or photographs of waterway activities in our Branch area which can be emailed to pete.gurney@waterways.org.uk (Please note there is a 35MB limit for emails with attachments sent via this address). The copy date for the next newsletter will be 15th January 2022, for publication in February. Advertising Lichfield Lines is posted or emailed to about 400 Branch members. It can also be read and downloaded by anyone from the Branch website pages. If you would like to publicise your waterway related business to our members, and others that read the newsletter online, we can offer advertising space at the following rates: Full Page - £20 inc VAT per issue
Half Page - £10 inc VAT per issue
Please contact the editor to discuss artwork and layout. By advertising you will help to sponsor IWA's charitable activities and reach potential customers who are all committed to the waterways. The IWA has a range of corporate members some of whom offer discounts to members. The discount details can be found on the IWA website at www.waterways.org.uk/support_us/corporates. Corporate members in our area are— Lichfield Cruising Club Longwood Boat Club Stafford Boat Club Ltd Ashby Canal Association Truman Enterprise Narrowboat Trust Tamworth Cruising Club Ashby Canal Trust Ash Tree Boat Club Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Countywide Cruisers (Brewood) Ltd Restoration Trust Elite Furnishings Canal Transport Services Ltd Birmingham and Midland Marine Services Waterways World Ltd River Canal Rescue Ltd Midland Chandlers Hargreaves Narrowboat Trust Glascote Basin Boatyard (Norton Canes Boatbuilders) Please mention the IWA when contacting any of these Corporate Members.
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Your Committee Chairman and Acting Secretary Tel: 01785 255101 Email: pete.gurney@waterways.org.uk
Pete Gurney
Treasurer Tel: 01785 255101 Email: sue.gurney@waterways.org.uk
Sue Gurney
Planning Tel: 01889 583330 Email: phil.sharpe@waterways.org.uk
Phil Sharpe
Newsletter and Website Editor Tel: 01785 255101 Email: pete.gurney@waterways.org.uk
Pete Gurney
Volunteer Coordinator & Membership Tel: 07808 846434 or 07481259955 Email: neil.barnett@waterways.org.uk
Neil Barnett
Navigation Officer Tel: 07847 470112 Email: derek.beardsmore@waterways.org.uk
Derek Beardsmore
Publicity—Press & Magazines Tel: 07808 846434 or 07481 259955 Email: neil.barnett@waterways.org.uk
Neil Barnett
Social Secretary
Position vacant
Minutes Secretary Tel: 01283 713125 Email: adrian.wedgwood@waterways.org.uk
Adrian Wedgwood
Ex Officio: Region Chairman also Branch Sales and External Talks (noncommittee posts) Tel : 01543 491161 Email: helen.whitehouse@waterways.org.uk
Helen Whitehouse
Non-committee posts Walks Coordinator Tel: 07866 201873 Email: clive.walker@waterways.org.uk
Clive Walker
Branch Contact Address Email: lichfield@waterways.org.uk
IWA Lichfield Branch 5 Bracken Close Stafford ST16 1SG
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