‘Forever hopeful project can reconnect Leek to its canal’

IN a statement to the planning committee, Chair of the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust, Julie Arnold, said: “We greatly appreciate the agreement to provide land to facilitate a mooring basin at Leek, and the securing of the £815,000 planning surplus to be directed towards funding this.

“We are ever hopeful that the Cornhill Regeneration Project can be unlocked and deliver the reconnection of Leek to its canal that the community has long aspired to, however we are concerned that the Section 106 clauses proposed by the applicant will constrain the delivery of new waterspace, facilities and connectivity, as sought by Local Plan policies.

“Last Autumn, we objected because proposed clauses were not appropriate. They used terms associated with commercial marina development. We said at the outline planning stage this would not be viable and this has been proven. But the proposed clauses persisted with the need for a commercial Network Access Agreement through Canal and River Trust’s new marina team.

“At Leek the goal is to create a mooring basin accessible to as many as possible: welcome visiting boats; giving access to all to fish, canoe, paddleboard, wheelchair users to board ‘Beatrice’; to cycle and stroll through well-designed green infrastructure linking through the new development to the Caldon Canal via the aqueduct across the River Churnet. A new Waterside for Leek.

“The wording of the decision needs to encourage the main development and the canal project to work in a delivery partnership that can agree detailed designs, programme works and see money spent wisely - to achieve landscape and waterspace outputs and outcomes that benefit Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands.”