progress Gipping & Lichfield The River Gipping Trust’s volunteers are working towards creating a tripboat length, while at Lichfield a new length of canal is taking shape The Trust stopped work parties in March and resumed with strict Covid-19 A few weeks back The River Gipping Trust restrictions in place in June. We continue to were delighted to have IWA / WRG’s Mikk work on the lock and by-wash at Pipps Ford Bradley visit us to carry out an engineering and recently completed the ford across the survey of the river between Needham Market by-wash suitable for motorised equipment to and Baylham, with a view to establishing cross, to get access to the lock. first sight feasibility and costs associated with The Trust’s volunteers continue to meet restoring navigation along this length. This up along the river every Wednesday. We have stretch of the river is around three miles long around 20 volunteers, with each work party with four locks. The Trust have been busy averaging out at around ten volunteers a restoring these four locks and are very close time. When not working on the by-wash and to completing them, ready for lock gates. We the new bridge we continue to carry out are awaiting the engineering survey report, maintenance work along the towpath bebut are hopeful that it will lead us towards tween Needham Market and Baylham and our next likely reporting stage of carrying out beyond. New volunteers are always very a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) welcome to come along ! along this stretch of the waterway which will Ian Petchey essentially identify what protected species are Restoration manager, River Gipping Trust likely to be encountered and habitats affected. These surveys will provide us with Stowmarket valuable documentation to support a bid to Stowmarket the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) Navigation for a grant to support a full detailed feasibility study. (River The survey was done on a lovely sunny Needham Gipping) Needham day with Mikk taking lots of measurements, Lakes Market notes and photos along the three-mile Bosmere Lock Creeting Lock stretch. It was good to see lots of people Pipps Ford Lock enjoying themselves at Needham lakes (East Baylham Lock Anglia’s most visited free attraction) which Baylham would be the starting point of our planned Great trip boat to Baylham. We noted that already Blakenham there is sufficient foot traffic to support a trip Claydon boat, even without the new near one million pound visitor centre and café planned to open lock-side of the canal later this year, which will undoubtably bring in more visiBramford tors. Baylham, with its Rare Breeds Farm is also a very popular visitor attraction. With planning permission now granted Sproughton for a new / restored towpath bridge over the Ipswich river along this three mile stretch of the river the Trust have been looking to apply for a Length: 17 miles grant to fund the bridge, but Covid-19 seems Locks: 15 to have put a temporary hold on applicaOpened: 1793 tions, hopefully we will be back to normal Closed: 1934 soon.
River Gipping Trust
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