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http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/press-releases/623-grant-awarded-for-staveley-canal-project 12th January 2015 Press Release from the Veolia Environmental Trust A project to install new lock gates on the Chesterfield Canal in Staveley can go ahead thanks to a funding boost from The Veolia Environmental Trust We have awarded Derbyshire County Council a grant of £37,500 towards the manufacture and installation of the new gates. The work will be third phase of a project to construct Staveley Town Lock in Staveley Town Basin. The new lock will provide a centrepiece to the site. When it is completed, the basin will be a combination of water-space on the canal and open green space for dry-land exhibits to be used during regular canal festival events. The grant was one of 53 recently awarded by our Board to community and environmental projects across the UK, with the grants totalling over £1.4m. This total represents our commitment to making a difference to communities and the environment, and people of all ages and backgrounds. We award grants through the Landfill Communities Fund and since we were established in 1997 we have awarded a total of over £3.9m to 89 projects in Derbyshire. We are now working with the county council to finalise the details of their project, including the start date, so it can get up and running as soon as possible. Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, Councillor Dean Collins, says, “Redeveloping Staveley Basin is all part of our plans to create a thriving local economy in Derbyshire to benefit everyone. This funding will help us continue to restore the canal and make more of the waterway navigable as well as improving the area for visitors to help boost tourism.” The Executive Director of The Veolia Environmental Trust, Paul Taylor, adds, “The new lock gates will bring many benefits for Staveley, its residents and its visitors, and we look forward to seeing the start of their installation.” End of Press Release Chris Beech, Assistant Project Manager (MEGZ) / Team Leader Land Reclamation, said “The grant offer has been made by Veolia Environmental Trust as funding specifically toward design, fabrication and installation of new gates for the Staveley Town Lock. We have begun preparation of tender documents with respect to provision of gates and other lock ‘furniture’ and, following a very successful 2014, the Chesterfield Canal Trust and Derbyshire County Council will be working closely together throughout 2015 in a bid to achieve completion of the remainder of the engineering works required at Staveley Town Basin.”

The Waterways Recovery Group are currently "camped" at Staveley. During their two week stay they are assisting The Chesterfield Canal Trust's own work party to progress the work on Staveley Town Lock. Last time I updated the forum it was showing the progress on the actual lock and the details of what was happening can be read here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/closing-the-gap/563-concrete-and-more-concrete The lock was looking something like this back in April: ..... and then in July at the festival you can see the work progressing: In the first picture you can see what will become a bridge for vehicular access over the canal at the far end of the lock. It is the area beyond the lock that the focus is on for the next couple of weeks. In this photo you can see that same bridge from the other direction with the new lock beyond it. The line of the canal then turns under a road bridge: The wall you can see behind the plant has been built by contractirs to retain the towpath. That wall needs to be reinforced and the WRG are building a block wall in front of the blocks. The gap between will be filled with concrete later this week: These are the walls below the lock which will eventually join up with the wall going under the road bridge: These guys are about to erect some shuttering for a concrete pour later in the week for foundations for the towpath wall. The towpath will come under the bridge and turn to come towards us. Here you can see a start has been made on the steps (there will be nine in all) that descend from the lock The full details can be read on The Chesterfield Canal Trust Website here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/closing-the-gap/589-waterway-recovery-group-camp-at-staveley By following that link you will also find the WRG blog for the camp which has a lot more photos. One of the things that fascinates me personally is the attention to detail. Modern materials are bing used throughout the build but there is a desire to make the finished article look traditional wherever possible. The lower bridge wing walls are to be clad in engineering bricks to make the concrete bridge look more like a traditional bridge. This will involve half the bricks having a mortar groove cut into the face to imitate the bricks being built in a traditional header/stretcher bond. The visible bricks on the towpath and washwall below the lock will also be laid in this fashion. This will be an awful lot of bricks! Most of these brick grooves will be cut by Trust and WRG volunteers during these camps. To facilitate the brick cutting, Matthew at Evolution Power Tools has donated a Rage2 Bench Cut Off Saw and a Diamond Blade. He has also given us a Disc Cutter with Diamond Blade that will be used to cut away the concrete from the lock approach wall to create a by-wash channel. He has supplied us with another Evo System Drive unit and water pump to help keep the lock site clear of any flood water and to assist in partially re-watering the Renishaw section to discover where the leaks are. How incredibly generous http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/uk/ There will be more updates to the progress over the next couple of weeks so I will add more photos when I can. If anyone is in the area please feel free to drop in and say hello to The WRGies and the CCT work party and see for yourself the magnificent job they are doing

The Moorhouse Flight of locks in Killamarsh, that will bring the restored canal out of Nethermoor Lake and up to the original line of the canal, was always going to be spectacular, but the latest news is quite stunning. About thirty houses have been built on the original line of the canal, so a new route was necessary to complete the restoration of the canal. Tthe original intention had been to build a five-rise staircase; each lock having a drop of about ten feet. However, with the possibility of the Rother Link being constructed, the plans have been revised dramatically. The Rother Link will join up to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, which has wide locks. The thinking now is that the Moorhouse Flight should also have wide locks. There would only be three locks, but each would have a drop of about sixteen feet. These would require very large amounts of water and hence would need side ponds For the full details follow this link: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/closing-the-gap/555-artists-impressions-of-moorhouse-flight-released

Canals are supposed to be full of water I know. It appears the elements in the Staveley area of Chesterfield got a tiny bit ahead of the plan though! Follow this link for the full story and more pictures: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/closing-the-gap/573-flood-at-staveley-town-lock This shows Staveley Town Lock today This shows what it should look like: This is after a massive downpour yesterday caused flash flooding on the site. Just over 2 weeks away from The Chesterfield Canal Festival 2014 which will be held at this site (not the flooded bit!) The work party will be continuing with the building of the lock over that weekend regardless of there being thousands of people around them having all the fun of the fair. I hope they have very long wellington boots! If you want to come along to the festival and have a look at progress for yourself the details are here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/general-news/477-festival-2014

The following information is from The Chesterfield Canal Trust's website and can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/general-news/513-hs2-what-you-can-do The Chesterfield Canal Trust have been inundated with members and supporters asking “What can we do about the threat from HS2?” The answer is "You can help by responding to the official HS2 Consultation". This will close on 31st January 2014. You can see the official HS2 Consultation website by clikcing here: http://www.hs2.org.uk/route-consultation The proposed HS2 route lies directly on top of the restoration route of the canal for 800 metres at Renishaw and for 1200 metres, in a cutting, at Killamarsh. In addition, the links to the proposed HS2 Infrastructure Maintenance Depot at Staveley would cut through the canal’s route at three points, including Staveley Puddle Bank. For maps of these areas, click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/general-news/414-maps-of-hs2-and-the-chesterfield-canal The Chesterfield Canal Partnership and Derbyshire County Council will be submitting detailed engineering information. The Canal & River Trust are also in dialogue with HS2 on our behalf. However it is vital that the Government understands the depth of feeling amongst the public that the restoration of the canal must not be blocked by HS2. We ask you therefore to respond to the consultation by demanding that a route for the canal is built into the plans. You can respond online;here: http://www.hs2.org.uk/phase-two/route-consultation/document-library?phase2_consultation=590 and then click on the second line for the online response form. Where it asks whether you are responding on your own behalf, or on behalf of an organisation or group, please click "Providing my own response". The Trustees will be submitting a formal response on behalf of the Chesterfield Canal Trust. There are nine questions altogether. You do not have to answer any, if you don't want to. It is fine to leave them blank. The important bit is Question 4 - The route and supporting infrastructure. All you need to write here is that you disagree with the proposed route of HS2 where it lies on the restoration route of the Chesterfield Canal at Renishaw and Killamarsh. You could also say that you disagree with the proposed link to the Staveley Infrastructure Maintenance Depot where it lies on the restoration route of the Chesterfield Canal. Anything else is up to you. If you prefer, you can send your response by email to HS2PhaseTwoRoute@Ipsos.com or send a letter to Freepost RTEL-YAZX-HAZT, Phase Two Route Consultation, PO Box 1152, HARROW, HA1 9LH; no stamp required. There will be a series of information events. visit http://www.hs2.org.uk/phase-two/route-consultation/document-library?phase2_consultation=604 for the full list. These events are an opportunity to review the consultation information, understand more about the implications for your local area and speak directly with HS2 Ltd staff about the proposed scheme. Themeetings local to The Chesterfield Canal are on Thursday November 14th at Killamarsh Leisure Centre, on Thursday 28th November at Bolsover Assembly Hall Community Centre and on Friday 29th November at the Speedwell Rooms in Staveley. All will run from Noon to 8 p.m. The Chesterfield Canal Trust got over 13,600 signatures on our petition two years ago. In order to register our support for the continued restoration of Chesterfield Canal, we need another massive individual response this time. Please help by forwarding this page to anyone who might be interested. Thank you. - * - * - * - I have just responded - I can assure anyone that unless you feel you wish to make detailed responses to all the sections it does only take a couple of moments to respond with the details suggested above. Please share this with anyone and everyone and ask they take a moment to respond if they care about the restoration of The Chesterfield Canal. If people are able to comment to this thread to keep it bumped up to the top then you too will be helping to bring this to the attention of a lot more people

The Italian Mob might have perfected this method of doing away with people but even if they had the concrete shoes their plan would work without the body of water to drown their victim in. The Chesterfield Canal Trust are working hard to create a body of water, but they need the concrete for their footings not the shoes! As you are all aware The Chesterfield Canal Trust is forging ahead with the restoration and with every brick that is laid we move closer to joining up the 8½ mile gap. Many of you will have seen the thread I started a few weeks ago with an update showing the magnifent job The Chesterfield Canal Trust's own Work Party & The Waterways Recovery Group did during the summer. If you missed it you can see it here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/press-releases/487-work-on-staveley-town-lock-surges-ahead-concrete-needed Here is one photo from that link showing work on the lock: And another couple showing work on the washwall at the tail of the lock Finally this photo: That gets me neatly around to the point of this thread. In the photo above Dave Kiddy is standing in the space which has to be filled with concrete. There is another such space on the other side of the lock. Then another layer of blocks, with an inner facing of bricks, will be laid to the height of the brickwork in the background and again filled with concrete. As you can see, The Chesterfield Canal Trust will need hundreds of cubic metres altogether. For information, the truck in the photo higher up carried just 8 cubic metres. They are appealing for people to donate a cubic meter of concrete at a cost of £80. If you can gift aid it it makes your donation worth £100 Can you help by buying a cubic meter of concrete? If you can then please click here to donate: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/shopping/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=77 and follow the instructions regarding gift aid. The Trust have already had a number of wonderful people chip in with their cubic meter of concrete which is really fantastic. My personal problem is that just at the moment I cannot spare £30 and I suspect there are a lot of others like me. I can afford a brick though! A brick is £5. I figure that all I need to do is find another 15 people who can spare a fiver and between us we will have donated sufficient for that cubic meter of concrete. I am sending out an appeal to all my lovely friends on this forum to see if any of you want to join with me by donating a fiver towards that cubic meter of concrete? To donate "a brick" click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/shopping/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=57 Perhaps a few of you might like to see if you can form a group with 15 friends and family to buy a cubic meter of concrete between you? If David Kiddy behaves then perhaps we might even allow him to climb out of the trench before we pour all that concrete into it

It has been a long time coming and it has taken a lot of blood sweat and tears from a lot of people (not to mention a lot of £££ - many of which were donated by the good people of this forum) Staveley Town Lock on The Chesterfield Canal will be officially opened in just over one weeks time on Saturday 28th May. On 6th June 2011 it looked like this: Today it looks like this: It has gates and working paddles, It has a ladder and beautiful coping stones. It has a cill and the grilles are on the intake. All it really needs now is some water to fill it and some boats to go through it. So far, Chesterfield Canal Trust has spent about £100,000 on building the Lock and Harbour. About £45,000 of this has come in donations If you would like to donate, please click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/home/home-353525/view/productdetails/virtuemart_product_id/19/virtuemart_category_id/4 If you would like to see many other photos of how the lock looks now and the story of the build over the last four years please click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/gallery/photos/475-staveley-town-lock I am so proud of what our Work Party have achieved (with a good deal of help from those wonderful Wergies and contractors for Derbyshire County Council) Here is another view of it from the other end. The official opening will be part of The IWA Trailboat Festival which Chesterfield Canal Trust is hosting on 28th and 29th of May (Bank holiday weekend) This means that there will be around 30 boats on the canal that weekend and no doubt all of them will want to try out the newest lock on the system. We will have no fewer than five trip boats operating on the canal that weekend so if you fancy coming to try the lock out for yourself come along to the festival: Full details are here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/press-releases/717-all-aboard-chesterfield-canal-prepares-to-host-national-trailboat-festival There is also a flotilla of boats setting off to do the entire length of that that end of the canal on Monday 30th of May and so for those who can't wait a few more years for us to join it up so you can get your own boat there there is an opportunity to navigate that section on one of our trip boats. The cost is £15 for the day. Staveley Town Basin to Tapton and back, in the company of 30+ other boats. 10 miles, 10 locks. Please ring 07925 851569 to book before paying. A second bit of history will be in the making next week when the historic boat Python will be craned onto this section of canal for the duration of the festival. This will mean that Python will be the first Historic boat to use this newly restored section of canal and the first historic boat to use the new lock. This has been enabled with huge thanks to Brook Garden Centre: Here is their website: http://www.brookgardencentre.co.uk/ I can hear many of you scratching your heads trying to work out why a garden centre would sponsor a historic boat so I will put you out of your misery. They have a reptile centre and, according to their website: So if you want to own your own python then that is the place you can get one, or any of the paraphanailia you will need to look after it properly. Here is a photo of our Python: She has her hold packed ready to fly off on her short break next Thursday. Do I need to mention - I am excited!

It has been a while since I brought you an update on the work at the lock at Staveley. The major work at present are preparation of the pound below the lock (we refer to this area as Hartington Harbour) for water so that boats can pass through the new lock. Last week this involved bringing a heavy machine onto site to lift the culvert sections onto the spill weir. With such a wet winter the conditions at the site remain incredibly muddy and as the culvert sections had to be lifted and brought under a bridge the height of the machine used was another significant consideration. This image shows the culvert sections being lowered into place It is a tight squeeze under the bridge - it takes an experienced driver to get it right: Whilst it all gets exciting from time to time when the contractors come with their heavy machines to make progress most of the time it is just the volunteer work party who spend long days there in the mud preparing for the next bit the contractors will do: ....and those culvert sections make great storage pods for materials! More mortar please - This is Ken. Ken is retired and has spent a few years continuously cruising all the way round the system on his boat but has decided to tie the ropes at a permanent mooring so he can spend his days like this! Mixing mortar to put into old paint buckets to be taken to the block layers through the mud in a wheelbarrow. Now THAT is dedication! Fair play to Ken and all all other volunteers who keep turning out whatever the weather to get this site finished I know at least one CWDF member has responded to the ongoing plea for old paint buckets. Can you see your buckets being used here Kev? 10 litre buckets are always welcome at Staveley! Hats off to them all I say. Take a good look at these photos because believe it or believe it not we are expecting to see boats moored on this stretch at the end of May. If anyone wishes to see the full update with loads more photos then they can read it here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/gallery/photos/475-staveley-town-lock