Canal Dreams Live On

Ambitious plans could see waterway extended into Leek via an aquaduct [sic] Article by Geoff Brown From Leek Post & Times, Wednesday 18 July 2007.

On A cold, damp winter morning in 1963 Harold Bode, Gordon Myatt and a few other people, including members of Stoke Boat Club, gathered at Hazelhurst Aqueduct, Denford, to discuss the possibility of reopening the Caldon Canal from Stoke to Leek and Froghall.It seemed a pretty hopeless prospect because the whole 16 miles or so of waterway were choked with weeds and silt and many of the locks were dilapidated.

But the power of a few visionaries should never be underestimated. Just over 10 years after that meeting, the Caldon Canal was reopened in the 1970s. Now boaters, anglers, walkers, cyclists and others can enjoy its amenities as it passes from the heart of the Potteries to the quiet rural beauty of the Churnet Valley.

Saving the canal was just one of many campaigns Harold Bode was involved in. Gordon Myatt, then the area youth organiser, became president of the Caldon Canal Society.

Today another group of visionaries have equally grand ideas for the canal. They want to extend the waterway nearer to Leek from its present terminus, where it meets the River Churnet and the feeder from Rudyard Lake. They also want to restore the length of the canal from Froghall to Uttoxeter - but that's an even bigger job and a story for another day.

Extending the canal at the Leek end is an ambitious proposal which could cost anything from £5 million to £10 million or more.

But to show they mean business, the enthusiasts worked with British Waterways to raise funds for a professional feasibility study, which has now been completed. The consultants, Mott MacDonald, working with British Waterways, have analysed the present situation and set out five possible routes and how the project might be done.

The study was funded and supported by the Market Towns Initiative, Inland Waterways Association, British Waterways, Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust, and Staffordshire County Council.

Plans to extend the Leek end were given momentum in 2002 with a massive rally organised by the Caldon Canal Society, Inland Waterways Association, Stoke Boat Club and the Beatrice narrow boat charity. They received overwhelming support from the public, who turned out in large numbers to see the colourful spectacle.

The great pity is that Leek Urban Council did not foresee the tourist possibilities in 1957 when it knocked down an early 19th century warehouse just off Newcastle Road and filled in the basin and canal as far as the River Churnet. But then hardly anybody wanted canals in 1957.

Admittedly it was a bit of a dump - literally. The warehouse was used by a firm of scrap dealers and the land next to the canal was the town's rubbish tip where the dustcarts - or 'ess' carts in the local language - dumped their cargoes of ashes and household refuse.

It would now be a hugely difficult job to restore the canal that existed before 1957. Most of the Barnfields industrial estate has been built over it. But to show they mean business the canal folk have included the idea in their feasibility study. It might not be impossible - but the cost of buying back the land from the various present owners would probably make the total bill prohibitive.

A more likely prospect would be to extend the canal from its present terminus towards the railway embankment, to coincide with plans by the Churnet Valley Railway to extend into Leek.

This idea has the backing of Moorlands Council, which has included new rail and canal facilities in its Cornhill regeneration plan.

One variant of this would include the construction of a new aqueduct which would shorten the link into Leek and be a visual attraction as well.

Other possibilities for consideration include creating a new section of canal and a basin along the feeder towards Ladderedge.

The council has already set in motion the preliminary steps to the Cornhill plan. A new rail station and canal basin would create an attractive 'arrival point' with car parks and a park and ride bus to the town centre.

The project is being put forward by representatives of British Waterways, Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust and the Inland Waterways Association.

The Leek arm was opened in 1801 and was originally intended solely as a feeder to the Caldon, but pressure from landowners persuaded the promoters to make it navigable.

It carried coal traffic until 1934 and tar until 1939 when commercial use ceased. It was officially abandoned in 1944 and in 1957, Leek Urban Council bought the embankment section from the Churnet Aqueduct to Leek Basin and filled in the canal with rubble. The land was used to form part of Barnfields Industrial Estate.

The Caldon Canal Committee, forerunner of the Caldon Canal Society, was formed in 1963 after a national rally of boats organised by Stoke Boat Club and the Inland Waterways Association at Stoke.

The present terminus at offers few facilities for boaters and the steering committee says the creation of a new destination at the end of the Leek arm could bring vitality to the canal and to the town.

The study says the combination of a new canal terminus and Churnet Valley Railway's aspirations to reopen the railway "offer an exciting opportunity to re-establish two lost transport connections to the town and increase tourism in Leek and the Churnet Valley."

Julie Arnold, secretary of the trust, says, "The production of the Leek Canal Study has been a concentrated campaign, requiring huge amounts of paperwork, imaginative fund-raising and public consultation at every step of the way - and all while the volunteers were also busy undertaking the restoration of the Froghall canal basin."

For more information, see the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust website or email info@cuct.org.uk .