Going Out on a High Note

SCARS has a new (Acting) Chairman. After 23 years I have decided to resign as Chairman. My work for SCARS began in 1984 when a Public Meeting was held in St Helens College, at which it was decided to start the Society. I thought, therefore, that a suitable occasion at which to finish my involvement was the event held in the same College to mark the 250th Anniversary of the opening of the Sankey in 1757.

I had, a decade or so ago, high hopes that by 2007 full restoration of the Canal might be well on its way and, in my wildest dreams, that it might even have been completely re-opened on that Anniversary. Unfortunately, that has proved an impossible dream.

But I am happy to say that, though dreams have dissolved over the years, there are still dreamers left to carry on, and the vision of a fully-restored Sankey remains a driving force for the Society. I am also pleased to record that nightmares have been few and far between.

We learned a lesson early on when the new approach road to St Helens Technology Campus was carelessly laid across the Sankey, creating yet another obstruction to restoration. Our vigilance, and co-operation from the three Boroughs through which the waterway runs, has ensured that such a thing, our worst nightmare, has not happened since.

The fencing at Warrington could also be described as nightmarish, but it is temporary, however gruesome it looks, and is no barrier to restoration.

Otherwise, restored sections, including the New Double Lock, and the continuing efforts of our Work Parties, show that progress, however slow, has been made over the past two decades, and I am confident that opportunities for small gains will continue to be taken by SCARS.

My thanks to all, on the Exec., in the Local Authorities, and in the wider waterways movement, who have supported SCARS in my time.

David Long, Ex-Chairman

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