RECREATIONAL STUDY OF THE SANKEY CANAL

A recreational study of the Sankey Canal, Sankey Valley Park and surrounding environments has been undertaken by engineering consultants, Royal Haskoning, on behalf of Warrington Borough Council, and sponsored by the Environment Agency.

Part of the consultative process included a questionnaire which we have completed and, where asked for other comments, the following comments were submitted as part of our observations:

A culvert severs the canal on the Halton side of the border at Johnson's Lane. Halton BC has plans to remove the bridge obstructions to the waterway and return the canal to navigational standard up to the culvert by 2013. This is in line with their plans to develop Widnes Wharf as a residential and commercial area with a navigable waterway an asset to the site's marketability.  The provision of a viewing platform for wildlife observations and towpath enhancements are also planned or in process.

The culvert could be lowered to permit navigation as the capacity of the storm drain is possibly not needed due to lack of industrial development that it was originally built for. The Environment Agency and Railtrack would need to have feedback into this stoppage problem.

From the culvert the canal is abandoned in Warrington through to Fidler's Ferry road bridge and is heavily weeded. This is not only unsightly but restricts the water flow through the growth and leads to reduced levels in the lower reaches of the waterway in Halton. SCARS has worked with Halton in the past to clear a way through the reeds and this has helped the flow somewhat.

Fidler's Ferry road bridge is in poor condition and will need replacing at sometime; SCARS will require that this be a swing or lifting bridge which will, in the long term, enable a through navigable link between the sea locks at Spike Island and the locks at Fidler's Ferry. The ownership of the bridge is said to lie with the Crown authorities.

The canal was restored by Warrington BC in the 1970s at Fidler's Ferry to provide a boat marina and continues to be successful and a great leisure asset today. Subsequent to this the borough council replaced, when needed, the accommodation bridges along the stretch with spans adaptable for navigation by having lifting hinge constructions. This was done with the eventual aim of restoring this stretch to navigation to the Sankey Bridges area.

Since that time the towpath edges have been allowed to deteriorate and the eventual collapse of a wash wall side, with an angler affected in the collapse, has led to disastrous beaching of the banks and further deterioration by the erection of unsightly metal fences which were erected on "health and safety grounds".

This H&S provision has isolated the waterway from the users making it a dangerous area where children can play and cannot be reached by adults if rescue is needed. A once thriving stretch of angling has been denied the local anglers and the towpath has been obliterated, diverted, and made generally unsightly to all.

Considering this is the Trans Pennine national cycle trail, and part of the Sankey Way and Mersey Way walks, the stretch now does not put the borough in a very good light as regards to conservation and leisure issues.

SCARS eventual aim is to get the waterway navigable up to Sankey Bridges. This would mean a boating facility of 5 miles length, linked to the river at both Spike Island and Fidler's Ferry. Interim terminal facilities would need to be established including provision of a slipway for launching craft and an adequate turning space which may already exist or can be easily constructed at Sankey Bridges and the development would bring regeneration to the local community there and revitalise the existing small recreational businesses there too as a feasibility study would, no doubt, find.

The restoration of the waterway to link with the next stretch of canal will require detailed and creative means to be employed in the task. Without diminishing our aims for full restoration of the waterway we realise that this may be one of the final projects in the restoration process.

In the interim period the next stretch of waterway from the Sankey Way obstruction has already been restored to navigable standard but the towpath surrounds have not fared as well. Once again inadequate bank protection and maintenance has meant that the fenced areas reappear to blight an otherwise well planned leisure facility. Fishing has also been banned from much of the area and objections to portable boating has also been alleged, all couched under the "health and safety" umbrella of reasons.

SCARS would like to see new bank works to enable the fencing removed and made available for walkers and anglers alike and, provision of slipways at strategic spot(s) on this stretch of canal to encourage small boating.

The stretch at Bewsey has been redeveloped in the past and has interesting features such as the Calland Pool and the remains of Bewsey Lock and its overflow system. The canal is dry between the lock and where the engineers diverted the old waterway for flood drainagepurposes at the close of the canal for trade. The navigable part here would be a good boating recreational facility and much could be achieved.

SCARS would like to see the area revitalised by the creation of a slipway for launching of craft, the reinstatement of water to the dry canal bed area north of the lock and further provision of a visitor centre in the area. The current Visitor facilities at Bewsey Old Hall are not really adequate and will probably close if the building is converted to residential uses. Provision of a visitor and interpretive centre by the Calland Pool would be a real centre of activity for the Sankey Valley and would be a showpiece of Warrington's leisure provisions.

Above: SCARS' Work Party returns to Winwick regularly to clear the dry dock of vegetation.

From Dallam Brook to Newton Brook Boundary the waterway has been infilled with domestic waste. The towpath remains accessible and is part of the Sankey Valley Trail and the basis for numerous local circular walks. The canal remains at Hulme Lock and Winwick have been excavated and conserved over the years with work done by SCARS in conjunction with the Borough's Parks and Leisure Services crews.

SCARS are still committed to the return of this section to navigable status but are keen, in the interim, to see further development of the Country Park facilities here with more interpretive and informative material available on the history of the waterway and the remaining artefacts. Continuation of the investigation, protection conservation of these sites should continue with the line of the waterway protected from development as a prelude to full restoration.

A later part of the project was to convene a workshop to outline the consultant's draft plans and to further examine and determine strategic aims and goals and assess priorities and objectives prior to the publishing of a final report to the Borough.

SCARS was represented on the day by Peter Keen and Dave Smallshaw, and there was plenty of opportunity for the airing of the Societv's  aims and suggestions, which on the whole were very well received by fellow users and the consultants.

Attendees of the workshop were very positive towards the study and what it is trying to achieve. There was, however, a general emphasis on constraints to the opportunities proposed and it was generally felt that there are a number of issues that will need to be resolved before certain opportunities could be realised, specifically with regards to water quality, contaminated land, ensuring that biodiversity is protected and complexities with dealing with various landowners.

The prioritisation exercise identified a preference for opportunities relating to canal restoration and access, with improving water quality, stabilising canal banks and reed bed management also mentioned. This attitude was reflected in the waterway being divided into specific sections and then examined in more detail.

The area between Sankey Way and Bewsey Lock (left, in 1993, when SCARS organised the 'Sailing the Sankey' Festival on the section) was generally thought to be the best area of the park, in terms of its character and appeal. It was, however, still thought that additional activities should be made available.

The area to the north of this up to the M62 was seen as a link to other areas of the park and as such viewed more as a green corridor than as part of the park proper. Improved access, signage and better vegetation management to open the area up, was deemed necessary.

Other areas suffering from low aesthetic appeal and anti-social behaviour were the stretches of waterway between the Halton border and Sankey Bridges( with the exception of the Fidler's Ferry marina area) and the area north of the M62 to the watered section at the borough border at Newton Brook.

Generally, the reaction to the opportunities proposed, both in terms of enhancement and development, was positive and the information received should help in the drafting of final proposals for the study area.

Royal Haskoning look forward to presenting their final proposals in the near future and we will be follow the developments ensuing from this with much interest and hope to report more progress in due course.

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