The Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) is currently restoring the Montgomery Canal’s dry section near Crickheath and is looking for local people interested in becoming trustees of its governing body as it prepares for the next phase towards Pant.
The Shropshire Union Canal network stretches in the east from the West Midlands to the Mersey and in the west reaches into Wales along the Montgomery and Llangollen canals. It includes the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct – a world heritage site.
Two groups working to reopen the Montgomery Canal have recently been engaging with local people to explain what they are currently doing and their plans for the future of the canal.
The Friends of the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) have both distributed different leaflets to let people in Pant and Crickheath know of their activities.
A local charity is calling on businesses and individuals to become a Friend of the Montgomery Canal to add their voice to encourage the restoration of the canal.
Christine Palin, Chairman of the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, says that the Montgomery Canal is one of the finest canals in the United Kingdom with a unique natural and built heritage.
As many people will know, work has started on preparation for the reinstatement of Schoolhouse Bridge over the Montgomery Canal between Pant and Crickheath.
In the first week of November, contractors will be drilling an underground route through the fields and under the canal bed, avoiding the bridge site, ready for Severn Trent Water to make the connection to the existing main and to cut off the supply across the bridge site later in the month.
Severn Trent has notified residents in the immediate area that they may close the road while the connections are being made. And they have suggested an alternative route via the A483 and B4398 but those with local knowledge may use alternative routes through lanes by the canal. Residents should, however, be aware that there may be extra traffic on these lanes for a short period.
How a future Schoolhouse Bridge could look
The project to reconstruct the bridge is scheduled to start next spring and will involve closing the lane while the bridge is rebuilt to modern highway standards.
After the crops were harvested last month, the bridge restoration team were able to access the final field by the bridge site. They fenced the area to be used for the project and then created a bypass track for the use of any heavy goods vehicle which would not be able to use alternative routes past the bridge site when the road is closed.
The work involved volunteers using hired machines to drive fence posts, lay the track and roll the track surface. The materials for this work were generously supplied by the Tudor Griffiths Group at cost as will those for the bridge itself next year. Tudor Griffiths himself has been interested in the restoration for a long time: he provided the land for the nature reserves by Aston Locks, near Queen’s Head, and many years ago he volunteered when the Inland Waterways Association’s Waterway Recovery Group was restoring the locks themselves.
Speaking for the Restore the Montgomery Canal! group, Chairman Michael Limbrey said: “This final stage of this year’s volunteer effort at Schoolhouse Bridge has been a modest project compared with what we shall be doing next year but it has shown what canal volunteers can do.
“The main work starts next year. We have to excavate the old embankment across the canal and construct the reinforced concrete base and abutments for the bridge. Contractors will then install the bridge arch – and it will be really exciting when they crane the arch into position. The final stages will involve building up to road level, surfacing, kerbing and landscaping. This will be one of the major canal restoration projects of 2021 and it has to be completed in a matter of months.
“We are always on the lookout for more volunteers to help us next year, especially anyone with construction site experience – though that’s not essential. With enough volunteers signed up we would not need everyone on site every day and of course the project will only be running for a limited period. It would be great to hear from anyone who would like to help this exciting project.
“We are particularly keen to bolster the site management team for next year: this could be valuable experience for a younger person looking to build up a CV, or an opportunity for someone between jobs or retired or approaching retirement.
“We are very grateful to local landowners for generously allowing us to use their land and to Shropshire Council and the Canal & River Trust for their support and assistance over the years we have been planning this project. The rebuilt bridge will remove a major obstruction to our ambition to reopen the canal to Llanymynech and into mid-Wales, restoring the connection to the national canal network that was lost over eighty years ago.”
The Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal is run by the local canal charities supporting the Montgomery Canal restoration: the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, Shropshire Union Canal Society and the Inland Waterways Association.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact project team member Ken Jackson via email on kgjackson@btinternet.com.
Meanwhile, readers may well have seen the Charity Garden Stall in Pen-y-Garreg Lane and the organisers want to say a very big thank you to everyone who contributed to or made a donation. £200 has now been paid into the Restore the Montgomery Canal campaign, and as a donation is eligible for gift aid making a total of £250.
The organisers still have a few of the donated books which hopefully will be sold at canal events next year and if still locked down they will be reopening the stall next Spring!
