Derby canal news 5/7/11

Canal restoration scheme wins backing of planning experts
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Derby Telegraph
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A CANAL for Derby has been recommended for the go-ahead by city council planning officers.
Plans for the restoration of the 12-and-a-half-mile Derby and Sandiacre Canal have been developed by the waterway's trust over four years.
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Rob Hartley projects director for Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust at the site off Hopwell Road in Draycott where new plans have been made to restore the canal and land around it
Council officers have now recommended its planning board give permission for its new route and alignment which is largely the same as when it shut in the 1960s.
It would run from Sandiacre to Swarkestone through Pride Park.
Officers from South Derbyshire District Council and Erewash Borough Council have also recommended the green light ahead of planning board meetings later this month.
Chris Madge, chairman of Derby and Sandiacre Canal Society – the heritage arm of the trust – says that, if planning permission is granted, the canal could be fully restored in between 10 and 15 years.
He said: "It only took three years for men with pick axes to build it in the first place.
"It is a very straightforward project in terms of engineering – there are few technical challenges on the route, no tunnels for example.
"The largest challenge we face is going under the railway line at Pride Park.
"We believe a major part of the development will be complete within 10 years."
Mr Madge says restoring the canal – which has not seen a boat since 1962 – is still set to cost about £45m.
He says about £5m is set to come from developers who want the canal to form part of their housing schemes, including developments in Spondon where the first part of the refurbishment would be likely to take place.
The trust also hopes to get about £7m from selling the spoil dug up from the line of the old canal.
And it plans to make a bid for Heritage Lottery funds "in due course".
Mr Madge cited this month's reopening of the Droitwich Canal as proof that waterways could be brought back into use.
The work cost £12m and was completed using £4.6m of Heritage Lottery cash, as well as money from local councils, the Inland Waterways Association, and Emda. Labour costs were reduced through the use of volunteers.
Mr Madge said: "We are convinced we can raise the money we need for this over a 10-year period.
"The challenge is getting through the first stage because once building work gets going it's easier to find funding."
A Heritage Lottery spokesman said the organisation had, in the last 17 years, awarded £91.4m to more than 215 river and canal projects.
He said: "We invest in every part of our diverse heritage."
The city council's final decision on the Derby and Sandiacre Canal will be made by its planning control committee on Thursday.