What happened re the Grantham Canal?

[stickleback]

Hi. Does anyone know what happened about the Grantham canal? We were all asked to write letters etc, which I did, but I have not heard the outcome of this. I'd be interested to know if the slip road was altered?

[capnthommo]

Hi. Does anyone know what happened about the Grantham canal? We were all asked to write letters etc, which I did, but I have not heard the outcome of this. I'd be interested to know if the slip road was altered?

hi

so would i. it all seemed a bit desperate and last minute so it would be good to know we succeeded. i'll just have a little google (fnar fnar) and report back if i find anything

cheers

nigel

 

Edit to add: no, didn't find anything conclusive. it seems to be ongoing. perhaps somebody else knows something.

Edited June 8, 2010 by capnthommo

[stickleback]

No news? It seems to have gone a bit dead...

[Hairy-Neil]

I drove up the A46 through the roadworks on sunday evening, so made a detour down what I think was the road concerned (the first road crossing to the west of the A46 bridge/Cropwell top lock. The works in the area of the canal crossing are virtually complete and the culverted road over the canal is newly resurfaced...

 

so I guess that's a no then.....

[capnthommo]

I drove up the A46 through the roadworks on sunday evening, so made a detour down what I think was the road concerned (the first road crossing to the west of the A46 bridge/Cropwell top lock. The works in the area of the canal crossing are virtually complete and the culverted road over the canal is newly resurfaced...

 

so I guess that's a no then.....

if that's the case then i can't say i'm really surprised. call me a cynic (go on, i won't mind) but AFAIS the builder doesn't really care - i expect they will have cashed the cheque and be long gone when/if it comes to making any changes and it will probably be up to somebody else to sort out the mess. suspect they would rather do as planned rather than make a small dent in profits even if it means someone else has to pick up a considerably larger tab later. purely a personal view of course, and it should in no way at all be considered an accusation or allegation. no - please - not the lawyers - anything but that - AAaarrrgh!

cheers

nigel

[Josher]

Not a good result ...

 

Canal campaigners slam ruling

 

Published on Wed Sep 08 13:22:25 BST 2010 Melton Times

 

CAMPAIGNERS have slammed a minister’s decision to refuse requests to modify a major A46 improvement scheme, a ruling they claim fails to protect the Grantham Canal.

 

Grantham Canal Society and Grantham Canal Partnership members had asked for A46 Newark to Widmerpool plans to be amended due to fears about the impact on the through navigation and restoration of the canal which stretches through the Vale of Belvoir. But their request has been rejected by Mike Penning, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport.

 

Campaigners claim Mr Penning’s decision ‘flies in the face’ of findings made at a previous public inquiry. Inspector Mr Wadrup was of the firm view that the A46 scheme ‘will not make restoration of the canal impossible from an engineering point of view, but the design of the A46 scheme has clearly caused it to be appreciably more expensive and administratively more complex.’

[Josher]

Things back on the up?

 

Funds will boost canal restoration Published on Wednesday 13 July 2011 Melton Times

 

A MASSIVE restoration project which will stretch over 33 miles of the Grantham Canal has been given the go ahead thanks to a heritage grant from the National Lottery. Two locks on the Grantham Canal are set to be restored to their former glory thanks to £48,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the money will also provide the Grantham Canal Partnership with the opportunity to establish a heritage skills training base at The Woolsthorpe Depot near Grantham where the focus will be on lock restoration. In addition the funds will be used to provide interpretation panels and historical signage alongside the canal which will be sourced from nearby communities.

 

Meanwhile an application for a further grant of up to £4m will be sent to the Heritage Lottery Fund next August in order for the Grantham Canal Partnership to undertake the next stage of the £750,000 restoration project. About 13 of the 18 locks on the Grantham stretch are in various stages of dereliction and the partnership’s hope is that by providing volunteers with the skills to repair the locks, through a training programme developed by the Inlands Waterways Association, they will be able to tackle all those needing repairs. The interpretation part of the project is looking to identify heritage that has been lost by working closely with schools and the elderly. Kevin Mann of the Grantham Canal Partnership, said: “This whole project is about communties that border the canal, their memories, their history, and what gave the canal its life.”

[Theo]

I believe that the plan now is to resotre navigation as required using a vertically lifting bridge (an electrohydraulic jobby). Thes things are never quick to operate and the road that it cuts is reasonable busy. It would surprise me not in the least if the traffic backs up n to the roundabout.

 

Nick

[137-Digital]

It would be nice to see it being used again, though it will be a lot of work as a number of bridges will need to be totally replaced as they are unsuitable for boats navigating the canal.

[Josher]

More progress ...

 

Monday 21 November 2011 Melton Times

 

NEW lock gates bringing a stretch of the Grantham Canal back into use for boats are set to be installed. The work to replace the top gates at Lock 18 at Woolsthorpe, Belvoir, has been made possible thanks to the Grantham Canal Society. The society has raised more than £16,000 to fund the cost of the new gates, ensuring the navigable stretch of the canal, from the A1 to Woolsthorpe, can be further extended and the other locks at Woolsthorpe can be used. The existing lock gates will be lifted by crane next Monday (November 28), with the new gates being installed the day after.

 

The Grantham Canal, originally opened in 1797, runs for 33 miles from the River Trent at West Bridgford, Notts, through the Vale of Belvoir to Grantham. One of the society’s key longer-term aims is to restore the canal to its former glory as a fully navigable waterway. Society chairman Mike Stone said: “The importance of this project cannot be overstated. Without the society’s intervention Lock 18’s future was bleak. The lock suffered partial collapse of its offside wall in 2008. “British Waterways, the canal owners, proposed that, in the absence of funding to carry out the necessary repairs, it should be filled in with ballast. Ultimately this was avoided and the cost of the repair was covered by a funding package put together by the society and the Inland Waterways Association. Now we need to step into the breech once more and restore the lock to full working order with new gates. This is a very exciting moment to be able to proceed with the replacement of the gates and to bring this stretch of water back into use for boats.”

 

The society still needs to raise a further £10,000 to cover all the costs involved and is appealing for donations. If anyone wishes to make a donation to support the Lock 18 project or become a volunteer then they can visit www.granthamcanal.com for contact details.