‘Monty’ volunteers strike gold
AFTER sevenyears battling to restore another 600m of the Montgomery Canal the volunteersof the Shropshire Union Canal Societywere finally able to see all of their hard work reach a fitting conclusion.
During a brief ceremony in the restoredchannel at CrickheathBasin, a ‘golden block’ was the last piece of the lining jigsawtobefitted into place.
Spectators had gathered on the newly restored towpath to hear project managerDavid Carter praisehis teamof volunteers for their stoic efforts dealing with adverse weather and incredibly difficult sections of subsidence over the duration of the project.
He also thanked the Canal & River Trust for its total package of support, the National Lottery for an award of £2.59 million which funded operations, Arcadis the firm of consultants that produced the designs for the reconstruction and Lloyds Animal Feeds which providedaccommodation for the working compound from the start.
Following the completion of the channel, the emphasis then moved back to the startingpoint at Prices Bridge where two of the stop boards retaining water in the channel leading down from Frankton Locks were opened slightly to allow water to begin flooding this new section. This rewatering is in readiness for the introduction of a small dredger to be used to carefully remove any remnants of the clay dams that have been in place at opposite ends of the 600m since 2015.
When this stretch of canal is officially opened in April next year it will link the winding hole at Crickheath Basin, restored by CRT in 2018, to the national network, enabling boats to turn round there and allow visitors access to the local community.
All of the machines used and materials needed over the sevenyears have been mostly sourced from local suppliers, which has greatly benefited sections of the local community.
Advance planning is taking place for the nextproject beyondCrickheath Bridge. Mainchannel work will begin in January 2023 to link with the new SchoolhouseBridgewhich hopefully will be reinstated by the Restore the Montgomery Group.
The group is always looking to encourage new volunteers and members. Visitwww.shropshireunion. org.uk for details of dates, contacts, news and information.