It doesn't matter which end you start...

In our last issue we announced that St. Helens' Council had received funding through the Single Regeneration Budget to fund a new, detailed study into the feasibility of restoring a further stretch of the Sankey in the centre of St. Helens. This study, which includes the 250 metre length of the Sankey between the restored canal beneath the Corporation Street bridge and Church Street, running between the railway and the Salvation Army hostel, and including the site of the former abattoir, has now been presented to the Council. All the illustrations we have seen published feature the Canal as the focal point for the regeneration of the eastern area of the town centre. The waterway is clearly seen as enhancing its setting and attractiveness and thus the possibility of attracting further inward investment.

The view above from the Report looks south, with Corporation Street bridge in the distance.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Canal, in Widnes, Halton Council have published their vision for the "Widnes Waterfront" - and the water involved is the Sankey. £8m of European Development Funds are the bait for bringing in a further £70m of investment. The exciting plans, which are tied in with the building of a second Runcorn - Widnes Bridge, see the Canal as providing high quality environments for the new developments. We couldn't agree more, and are look forward to playing a part in helping this vision come to fruition.

Also at Widnes, plans are afoot to take up a long-standing SCARS suggestion - to install a permanent swing bridge at Spike Island. At present the everyday access is by means of a fixed, light wooden bridge on the site of the railway swing bridge. When access for heavy vehicles is required for the Halton Show, the Council hire a heavy-duty temporary bridge. By installing a permanent swing bridge the annual expense would be avoided, and Spike Island would be accessible all year round by heavy vehicles, thus enabling more events to be staged there without the considerable expense of hiring the temporary bridge. A party of Councillors and Officers recently paid a visit to the site of a suitable bridge on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and returned very impressed, and resolved to see such a bridge at Widnes. Once that has been done, only the small bridge at Carter House Lane remains as a barrier to the full restoration of the whole length of the Sankey within Halton. Quite an achievement for relatively little cost.

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