Due to the collapse of the Norwood Tunnel over a century ago Chesterfield has ceased to be a 'canal town'. but now, finally, thanks to the decades of work of the Chesterfield Canal Trust that is set to change.
The range of bodies that have been and remain involved are many and complex yet one of the most significant is Derbyshire County Council. In many regards they hold most of the keys to the canal being reconnected to the national navigable network.
Over the last year, under Covid and with all of the time restirctions that has nvolved, I have been exploring the Chesterfield Canal from West Stockwith right up to the Norwood Tunnel where the current journey ends. Today I reached the very end of the navigation as it stands and it felt like a real personal landmark. With the boat unable to make the last few metres, I took to a small canoe and paddled right up to the closed tunnel entrance.
As my canoe could go no futher, i felt a sense of optimism for the Borough. My canoe was a small step, but a significant one for me in better understanding just how important this will be when navigable again to Chesterfield. Seeing for myself what the scale of the project involves, and knowing the landscape and communities that the canal flows through in coming to our town. It's noteworthy that the current terminus where the tunnel collapsed all that time ago is now in the Borough of Rotherham at Kiverton Park.
It was a real sense of exhilaration as I paddled to the current end of the canal, and reaffirmed my opinion that this next stage of work that the Society has underway and to which the Borough and County Council have signed up, is critical to the towns economic and tourism future. I'm signed up and a member of the Chesterfield Canal Trust - are you?
https://chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment