The Erewash Canal Access Strategy was first launched before Christmas at Long Eaton. Last Saturday there were a couple of public follow-up meetings, one in the morning at Ilkeston which I attended, the other at Long Eaton in the afternoon which Tony Allcock went to. These meetings had been set up by Lathams, a firm of architects from Derby, on behalf of British Waterways. Each of the meetings was informal: members of the public, could drift in off the street and chat with representatives of the two organizations, and each other, around display boards carrying information on the canal. These outlined possible developments which would enhance links with the surrounding area, create tourist and recreational facilities, provide access to the countryside, address certain types of anti-social behaviour, provide safe walking/cycling routes, and so on. Also, by filling in a questionnaire, one was automatically included in a prize draw, the prize being an iPod 'Shuffle'.
BW has been given a sum of money, some of which it has spent already on improving the area adjacent to the canal at Trent Lock. The remainder, £250 000, is to be used to improve the appearance of a small number of ‘gateways’ giving access to the canal towpath, rather than spread this whole amount thinly along the entire canal, with little actual result or visible impact. It is hoped that the effect of this approach will be to encourage other funding bodies to offer finance for the further improvement of this valuable resource. It is therefore not intended to be for the maintenance and repair of the towpath surface (a major concern of ours), an ongoing job which Erewash Borough Council is obliged to carry out, through an agreement they have with BW.
At the end of the day, the winner of the draw turned out to be none other than Tony Allcock! Well done, Tony. Enjoy your Shuffle!
BW has been given a sum of money, some of which it has spent already on improving the area adjacent to the canal at Trent Lock. The remainder, £250 000, is to be used to improve the appearance of a small number of ‘gateways’ giving access to the canal towpath, rather than spread this whole amount thinly along the entire canal, with little actual result or visible impact. It is hoped that the effect of this approach will be to encourage other funding bodies to offer finance for the further improvement of this valuable resource. It is therefore not intended to be for the maintenance and repair of the towpath surface (a major concern of ours), an ongoing job which Erewash Borough Council is obliged to carry out, through an agreement they have with BW.
At the end of the day, the winner of the draw turned out to be none other than Tony Allcock! Well done, Tony. Enjoy your Shuffle!
Picture shows members of the public around the display boards at the Ilkeston meeting.
1 comment:
Sounds like yet another long term project which is pointing in the right direction with some beneficial spin-off for the NCN and cyclists.
Nice to see Tony winning the raffle prize. A well earned reward for his efforts in promoting cycling in the area. No doubt he'll be listening to some oboe recitals on it.
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