Love Your Waterways

© George Andrews

IWA National Rally at Stourbridge in 1962

The approach to Strensham Lock, an early restoration project on the river, in 1990

© Tony Kozary

© John Gagg Tame Valley Canal near Salford Junction in 1971, one of the canals classified as ‘Remainder’ in the 1968 Act

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© John Gagg

© Supplied by Robin Higgs

8 1962 - Rallying to save the

Stourbridge Canal

When in 1961 the British Transport Commission announced that the Stourbridge Canal was to be proposed for closure in a forthcoming Bill, IWA was already intending to hold its 1962 National Rally at the end of the Stourbridge Arm. BTC refused to clear the canal themselves or allow volunteers to. IWA Midlands Branch started clearance work anyway and, after national publicity, BTC withdrew its threat of legal action and allowed work to continue. The 118-boat rally was a great success and not long afterwards, the newly formed British Waterways allowed volunteers to work on the main line of the canal, resulting in its re-opening in 1967.

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1962 - Reopening of the Lower Avon

The river Avon between Tewkesbury and Evesham became unnavigable during the Second World War above Pershore. In 1949, IWA Midlands Branch organised a conference to discuss the future of the river that led to the formation of the Lower Avon Navigation Trust in 1950. The Trust’s aims were to purchase the semi-derelict navigation, restore it and then manage it. Most of the restoration work was done using a large pool of volunteers working at weekends and holidays, with some assistance from the Army. Reopening progressed up the river, with Evesham being re-connected to the UK waterway network in 1962. It was the first reopening to be completed using largely volunteer labour, paving the way for many subsequent restorations.

10 1964 - Reopening of the

Southern Stratford Canal

In 1958, Warwickshire County Council sought closure of the Southern Stratford Canal on lack of use grounds so that a rebuilt bridge at Wilmcote could be replaced by a pipe to save £6,000. With much publicity, IWA held a public meeting in Stratford which unanimously condemned closure. The canal was leased to the National Trust, who at the time were interested in at-risk waterways, for 5 years and they provided most of the funding. Work started in the summer of 1960 using volunteers under the management of David Hutchings. Army and Air Force personnel, along with prisoners from Winson Green Prison, helped speed up the work. Despite the hard winter of 1962/63 and last-minute problems with Wilmcote Locks, it reopened in 1964 with a spectacular ceremony graced by the Queen Mother.

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1968 - The Transport Act that promised a new future

The future of the nationalised canals for pleasure boats was secured with the 1968 Transport Act classifying usable canals without commercial traffic as ‘Cruiseways’. ‘Remainder’ unnavigable waterways were guaranteed to not be allowed to deteriorate further over the next 3 years, allowing time for restoration proposals to be made. The Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council (IWAAC), which included IWA activists, was set up to investigate these and give advice on use of the network for recreation. It wasn’t quite the National Waterways Conservancy that IWA had long campaigned for, as it only covered those waterways nationalised in 1948, but it was a big step towards it. The sting in the tail, however, was the removal of the historic right of navigation, which IWA and others had relied on to get reluctant waterway authorities to do maintenance work.

12 1968 - Operation Ashton

When the Ashton Canal became unnavigable in 1961, IWA organised a protest meeting and a campaign cruise that same year. The Peak Forest Canal Society was formed in 1964 to campaign for restoration of both canals. Following pressure, British Waterways allowed working parties to do clearance work. On 21st and 22nd September 1968, over 600 volunteers removed large quantities of rubbish from the canal in Operation Ashton, coordinated by Graham Palmer. The considerable publicity that resulted demonstrated that volunteer effort could be effective on a large scale. This, along with the 1968 Transport Act, eventually led to an agreement in 1971 between British Waterways, IWA and local authorities to fund the restoration of both canals.