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 18th, at the Woodgate Valley Centre
and presented the scheme to Trust Members that evening at the Selly Park Tavern
Skittles Alley.
May 2007
