The construction work for the new road bridge, over the Lapal Canal in Selly Oak, is depicted with photographs and explanation in the Towpath Telegraph column of Waterways World (Page 50, February 2008) thanks to canal journalist and local resident Stanley Holland.

Based on our Press Release document we offer this summary of recent developments.

“Going Over The Top”

The restoration of a small but significant length of derelict canal in the West Midlands and the prospects for a new marina to enhance boating tourism in Birmingham have both moved closer to reality, according to a Feasibility Study launched on May 19.

 The leading canal and engineering consultancy; Atkins, had been commissioned by the Lapal Canal Trust to take a fresh look at the southern half of the Dudley No 2 Canal currently lying dormant between Selly Oak and Halesowen. In particular, they have considered a range of issues for the Lapal Tunnel which lies derelict beneath the Woodgate Valley.

 Weighing all the evidence and prospects in the balance, the consultants are recommending that the Tunnel should not be restored but an alternative route should be used to take the canal up and over the hillside, and into the valley, instead. By this means the restoration will not only benefit the boating community but will also include all other types of canal users; walker,  jogger, cyclist and fisherman.

 A further benefit of rising up to the valley floor is that it would enable a marina to be constructed in California. In part this would solve some of the problems generated by the waste material that is buried there, while also providing Birmingham with additional moorings so desperately needed to increase the attraction for the boating holiday-maker. Such a facility would also provide additional employment in the locality.

 The Study concludes that this departure from the former by-pass route for which the canal was first constructed, over 200 years ago, will greatly enhance its attraction to the modern boating tourist and will also offer a range of regeneration projects for the adjoining communities.

 Therefore the Study concludes that restoration of the 5.5 miles-long Lapal Canal is entirely feasible and would offer a wide range of social, environmental and economic benefits were it to proceed.

 Speaking on behalf of the Trust, its Chairman Dr Peter Best said

 “The more you delve into some of the detail of this proposal the more excited you become for a project which can now be undertaken in sensible stages.

 No longer need we worry about the all-or-nothing costs of the tunnel but instead, we can schedule a series of length-by-length restorations to be undertaken as and when funds allow.

 There are indeed exciting times ahead as we prepare to ‘go over the top’.”

 Meanwhile, Tony Harvey, General Manager, British Waterways - West Midlands commented;

"British Waterways welcomes the completion of the feasibility study into this significant canal restoration project. We remain generally supportive of the restoration objectives of the Lapal Canal Trust and recognise the social and economic benefits which, when aligned with British Waterways' ventures, have the potential to contribute towards British Waterways' vision of an expanded, vibrant and largely self sufficient network."

 

Notes:

The Lapal Canal Trust was formed in 1990 to restore the derelict 5.5 miles length of the Dudley No 2 Canal. At 2.2 miles long, the Lapal Tunnel was once the UK’s fourth longest construction of its type, but suffered a range of inherent problems due to its construction and the soft nature of the marl through which it passed.

Its very narrow dimensions rule out its re-opening without considerable; indeed major, re-engineering to tolerate the modern diesel-engine narrow-boat. Thus, the consultants conclude that such money is better spent on a partly new canal which brings benefits to users of the restored canal and the wider community alike.

A second issue which the Consultants have considered has been the restoration sequence in order to optimise these benefits as resources gradually come available. In this context they conclude that a progressive restoration sequence form West to East; i.e. Selly Oak to Halesowen, would be optimum.

Coincidentally, the first stage of that restoration; being the junction of the Lapal Canal with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal in Selly Oak, is soon to be delivered by Sainsbury’s as part of their plans for relocation within the massive development of the Battery Park and Queen Elizabeth Hospital complexes.

The Trust received the Consultants’ Report in the presence of local VIPs at a short afternoon gathering  on May 18^th, at the Woodgate Valley Centre and presented the scheme to Trust Members that evening at the Selly Park Tavern Skittles Alley.

May  2007

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