The Droitwich Canals Trust is an English
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
created in 1973 to work towards the restoration of the
Droitwich Canal
The Droitwich Canal is a synthesis of two canals in Worcestershire, England; the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal. The Barge Canal is a broad canal which opened in 1771 linking Droitwich Spa to the River Severn at Hawford ...
. From 2001 it worked as part of a larger group, the Droitwich Canals Restoration Partnership, and in 2004, following a successful application for a grant of £4.6 million from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
surrendered its lease on the canal to
British Waterways
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland ...
, who then managed the restoration through to the reopening of the canals in 2011.
History
The Droitwich Canals, consisting of the Barge Canal from Droitwich to the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
at Hawford and the Junction Canal from Droitwich to the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long.
There ar ...
at Hanbury, were abandoned in 1939.
During the early 1960s, the condition of the remains was regularly debated by Droitwich Borough Council, and various plans for its long-term future were suggested. In 1959 Max Sinclair began campaigning to reopen the Droitwich Canals and on 4 November 2013 was honored with the
Freedom of the town for his services to Droitwich.
[''Max Sinclair - Freeman of Droitwich'' May 2014 Worcestershire I.A. & Local History Society Spring Newsletter Issue 45 p3] A local member of the
Inland Waterways Association
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations.
Not ...
started a press campaign in 1963, suggesting that restoration was feasible. At the time, Max Sinclair estimated that the work could be completed in less than two years.
By 1966, the council were beginning to think of the canal in terms of an amenity, and floated the idea of its restoration to the general public through an illustrated article, which appeared in the ''Worcester Evening News'' on 14 June 1966.
In 1969, the Inland Waterways Association published a strategy document entitled ''Safeguarding Britain's Waterways'', in which each of its eight branches were asked to work with local restoration groups. Where there was no such group, interest was created in forming one, and a group was set up for the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long.
There ar ...
and the Droitwich Canals. As progress was made towards the start of actual restoration, a more formal structure was needed, and the Droitwich Canals Trust Ltd was established in 1973, with support from local councils. Work began on the canal soon afterwards.
[ The Trust is a private company limited by guarantee with no share capital, and is registered with ]Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...
as Company No. 01132669.
Progress was slow, but the first section near Vines Park was reopened in October 1986. In 1994, a feasibility study on full restoration was presented to a packed public meeting at Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
Town Hall. It identified two major problems, that of an adequate water supply and the crossing of the A449 road just above the junction with the River Severn. While the local authorities were committed to restoration, it was dependent on the availability of financial resources. The Trust indicated that it had neither the manpower nor the resources to complete the restoration as quickly as some people desired.
From July 2001, the Trust worked as part of the Droitwich Canals Restoration Partnership. This consisted of representatives from the Trust and from British Waterways
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland ...
, The Waterways Trust
The Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established in 1999, that worked with partners to see the waterway network in England, Wales and Scotland supported, valued and enjoyed by a wide audience. The Trust was formerly registe ...
, Worcestershire County Council
Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. The most recent elections to it were in 2021. Worcestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall in Worcester, wh ...
and Wychavon
Wychavon is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, with a population size of 132,500 according to the 2021 census. Its council is based in the town of Pershore, and the other towns in the district are Droitwich Spa and Evesha ...
District Council. Following the creation of the Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
, grants were available for projects which sought to preserve the country's heritage, and in late 2004, a grant of £4.6 million was secured to complete the restoration. Further matched funding came from local councils and from Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a bus ...
, the regional development agency covering the locality. In order to create a better structure for the management of such a large capital project, the Trust surrendered their lease of the canal to British Waterways, who would then lead the project.
See also
*Canals of the United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*History of the British canal system
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
Bibliography
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References
{{Reflist
External links
The Droitwich Canals Trust homepage
Organisations based in Worcestershire