Option B – through the lakes

Some 350 metres north west of Denstone Lane, the canal would branch off to the east towards Calwich Cottage Farm. Two locks would be required. Sufficient room exists for the canal to cross the B5032 between Calwich Cottage and the River Churnet.

From here the canal is free to continue south, around Denstone Hall and towards the B5031. At the B5031, a new lock would be required. Once past the road, the canal would enter the lake to the north east of the JCB works and would continue through for approximately 600 metres. At the southern end of this first lake, a short link and a new footbridge would be required to link in to the smaller lake to the south. The canal would then run south west through this lake for approximately 150 metres before reaching Hollington Road. In order to pass below Hollington Road and into the lake to the south of this, a new lock would be required to drop the canal. Once past Hollington Road, the canal would pass through an area currently used as a sports ground. Further work would be required to assess the layout and use of this area to mitigate any impact the canal would have on the facilities available. The canal would then enter the third lake, which it would run through for around 440 metres. At the southern end of this lake, the new canal would need to cross an access road, for which a new moving accommodation bridge would be required.
The canal would then cross through an area of open land at around natural ground level, before reaching the B5030. In order to cross below the B5030, a new lock would be required. Once past the B5030, the canal enters a relatively flat area with no further major constraints between here and the River Tean at the quarry site. At the southern end of this section, the canal would reach the River Tean and the last constraint before reaching the quarry. Here, a river crossing structure and lock would be required to drop the canal down to the quarry water level.