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New-look canal makes a splash
Posted on 08/09/2009
Community Services
A small stretch of a canal which met a watery end over 40 years ago has been re-opened after a re-vamp.
The 20-metre extension of the Ashby Canal from Snarestone is the first part of the restoration of the waterway to Measham. This section was closed in 1966 because of mining subsidence which reduced its length from 30 to only 22 miles.
As well as the extension, better better boat turning facilities have been added plus a stop-gate, a nature reserve and a temporary slipway to launch boats.
The £500,000 boost is just one element of a County Council-led project aiming to restore the 200-year-old canal to its original length.
Ernie White, County Council Cabinet Member for Better Places, said: "People only have to look at the length we have already built at Moira to realise what an asset the restored canal will be.
"We are now trying to put together a funding package to see if we can extend the canal further."
This next phase of the project would involve extensive site clearance and canal excavation to extend it by another 30m at Snarestone.
The Ashby Canal Association and the Ashby Canal Trust have offered funding towards this work which it is hoped could start this autumn.
The completed restoration work at Snarestone was carried out as a partnership between Leicestershire County Council, British Waterways, and British Waterways' contractor, May Gurney.
To find out more about the project, visit www.leics.gov.uk/ashbycanal.
Photo Opportunity:
Ernie White will be available for photos, alongside County Council staff, at the Ashby Canal Snarestone terminus, off Quarry Lane, Snarestone at 1pm on Friday, 11th September.
Notes:
The 30-mile long Ashby Canal was built in 1804 and suffered progressive closures until 1966, when due to mining subsidence, it was reduced to 22 miles long and terminated at Snarestone, rather than its original terminus north of Moira.
Leicestershire County Council is leading a project to restore it to its original length and has already restored the Ashby Canal between Conkers Waterside at Moira and Donisthorpe. Attention is now focused on extending the canal from the terminus at Snarestone to Measham.
Funding for the work at Snarestone has been provided by East Midlands Development Agency, with support from Leicestershire County Council, Ashby Canal Association and the Ashby Canal Trust.
The restored canal to Measham will include:
- two more nature reserves
- a road crossing
- two aqueducts
- a marina
- a new ‘Measham Wharf’ waterside development in the centre of Measham.
Ultimately, the project aims to extend the canal further northwards from Measham to connect to the previously restored section between Moira and Donisthorpe.
A stop gate divides long stretches of canal into smaller lengths in the event of a break in the canal.