Sankey Canal Restoration Society



Volume 6, Number 12 - Autumn/Winter 2008-09

Restoration Round-up
by Colin Greenall

Part Two: News from the Three Boroughs

St.Helens

New bridge at Lyons Yard (right)

The new Emergency Services' Access Bridge is now in place over the canal. This links the new St.Helens Chamber Offices with the Linkway. It's a pity it had to cross the canal at almost water level when there was ample space to give headroom for navigation.

Sankey Valley Park Heritage Centre.

St. Helens Council has approached SCARS with the idea of forming a partnership to develop the under-used Visitor Centre at Blackbrook. The plan is to transform it into a more user-friendly place to visit, with hi-tech information facilities, better photographic displays, a place where meetings could be held, and much more.

The scheme is the development of the Stanley Bank Triangle Project, which has received funding from the Heritage Lottery to make it into a visitor attraction and, in the long term, an asset to the town.

Our part in the scheme would be to promote the restoration of the canal; it would also give us a base from which to work.

Warrington

Winwick

An unknown volunteer has been at work in Winwick dry-dock (see photo).

Apparently this gentleman has been pointing the masonry of the dry-dock without permission from Warrington Council and although asked to contact SCARS by Warrington Ranger Service he has continued to go it alone, this means he that if he had the misfortune to have an accident whilst at the dock he would not have been insured.

It now appears that Warrington have tried to put a stop to his activities by putting a ban on the site until the red colour liquid which gathers in the bottom of the dock is analysed to see if it is toxic.

May I say thank you to this gentleman for his excellent work at the dock.

Bewsey

At a recent meeting with Warrington BC. it was stated that a grant was available to do a study of the recreational potential of Sankey Valley Park.

Some of the ideas suggested were improvements to Callans Pool, to transform this into a boating lake with a new Ranger Information Centre and Café, a second was for a Nature Trail on the Site of Bewsey Tip and the third was to re-water the section of canal above Bewsey Lock.

Fidlers Ferry

The former site of Marsh Lane Bridge swing-bridge is now causing concern.

The concrete structure that replaced the wooden swing bridge is now in need of renewal, but the owner of the bridge could not be identified and therefore no one would take responsibility for its upkeep.

British Waterways has recently informed us that since the owner of the bridge has gone into liquidation the ownership of the bridge has reverted back to the crown.

So who will fix it?

Halton

Widnes Waterfront Development

There are interesting plans for the canal in this new development these include a new swing bridge at Carterhouse Bridge, the wooden bridge on the site of the railway swing bridge onto Spike Island is to be replaced with a lift bridge and the Wet Dock is to be deepened and reconnected to the River so that it can then be used as moorings.

It has been stated that the canal up to the boundary with Warrington will be fully restored by 2013.

Barmere

Film contract abandoned

The Society was approached in late September about the possibility of Barmere being hired out to a film company for use in a new Sherlock Holmes feature production being filmed in Liverpool Docks. Plans were made for her to be taken down river by tug and a date selected to move her to the lock ready for the journey. Unfortunately when that day arrived it proved to be a day of high winds and rain and the plan had to be abandoned.

New Moorings for Barmere

In mid September Barmere was moved to new moorings, these new moorings are further up the canal away from the other boat and are more secure (below).

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