WILTS & BERKS CANAL TRUST

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In case you missed this beautiful picture of Dragonfly

This photograph is by Sabine Coe and originally appeared in the Swindon Advertiser in November 2012

Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Search for a New Chairman

The Chairman of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, John Laverick, was taken ill suddenly in September. Although he is now on the road to recovery, he has decided to step down from his role.

Bringing the Wilts & Berks back to life is recognised to be the most ambitious canal restoration in the country. The Trust is now looking for a person with the foresight and commitment to take up this challenge and lead the Trust on to the next stage. They have numerous projects coming on stream at the moment including the Melksham Link, creation of a new stretch of canal that will join Melksham to the Kennet & Avon Canal and the 5 year Towpath Challenge, restoring 102km of towpath from Semington to Abingdon.

For more information please contact Kath Hatton - Acting Chairnan

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https://www.waterways.org.uk/news_campaigns/bulletins/iwa_bulletin_january_2013

The Trust has again run trips on its narrowboat to try to find Santa along the Wilts & Berks Canal at Kingshill Swindon.  The trips were over the 8 weekend days in December, 4 trips per day. We were fully booked by early December.

The boat was decorated and our guests enjoyed mulled wine & mince pies for the adults , squash and sweets for the children. The task was for the children to spot Santa who then got on board laden with presents for them. A total of 351 people joined us.

During the period there were 2 charter trips, one for a 40th Birthday celebration and on another occasion, singers from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, enjoyed a company outing. We also ran successful trips on Boxing Day.

Proceeds were in aid of the Trust but more important many children, parents and grandparents now know about the Canal and the Trust in Swindon.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers who worked so hard in order that we were able to run 29 Santa Trips plus 2 charters during December.  It is difficult to name those who helped or even the list of tasks they performed as someone is bound to be missed out. So many thanks if you helped and please pass this on to anyone who helped you but we were unaware of. We would like to thank all our suppliers, especially Muddy Waters for their books www.muddywaters.org.uk.

The photos that we have been sent by our passengers, showing happy faces, makes it all very worthwhile.

We also thank our passengers who joined us and those who were  kind enough to send us the following comments

"I would just like to say what a wonderful time we had yesterday on the santa trip,..... and what a lovely santa my children loved it. Can I be cheeky and ask where you got your mulled wine from it was the best I have ever had. I will be definately booking again THANKYOU ALL SO MUCH" HS

"CAN'T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH FOR A MAGICAL TIME"

Just got back from our trip to see Santa, what a fantastic time we had, so glad we booked it and definitely one to put on the calendar for next year, thank you to everyone for a wonderful time, keep up the good work" SG

"Many thanks for yet another fantastic Santa boat trip.
We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Father Christmas was fantastic with the children and their gifts were wonderful. "TC

"We had a lovely time, my daughter enjoyed it hugely, We will definitely be booking next year" VN

For details about the boats and the location see www.wbct.org.uk/boat-trips/schedule or visit our shop in Theatre Square Swindon. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  

See the video made by Infinite8 Productions

Swindon MasterPlan Consultation Responses Published

22nd December 2012    Forward Swindon have published a summary of the responses to the recent consultation  on the proposed MasterPlan for Swindon Town Centre .A large number of responses indicated that  they supported inclusion of the canal in the MasterPlan. Forward Swindon are now considering  what changes may be made .You can read the summary of responses by clicking  here

Swindon Advertiser 2 November 2012

Canal group fears opportunity could be lost

Chris Coyle  (Company Secretary WBCT) letter to Forward Swindon Limited                                                                   

Dear Sirs

29th October 2012

WILTS & BERKS CANAL TRUST - RESPONSE TO FORWARD SWINDON

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust notes with disappointment the response of Forward Swindon as reported in the Swindon Advertiser.

The Trust, which is an award-winning charity, comments that of course the residents of Swindon are going to be 'generally positive' about the proposals.  Everyone has known for years that Swindon needs a major shake-up, so anything is going to be welcomed as a step forward.  If that is the best that can be said about the reaction, then Forward Swindon has failed to come up with anything inspiring or to catch the public imagination.

Forward Swindon also gives a very misleading impression about the strength of the feeling in support of the canal, as expressed in the consultation.  Saying that 'we have had comments regarding the canal not being shown as a through route'  grossly understates the number and weight of the very positive support for the canal in the responses to the consultation.  The supporters include the Wiltshire Swindon and Oxfordshire Canal Partnership, representing every local authority along the line, major national sporting and leisure associations such as Sustrans and Canoe England, the Environment Agency and Natural England, as well as other organisations.  Support has also been given by Oxfordshire County Council, which urges Swindon to adopt the through route.  The national Inland Waterways Association, representing tens of thousands of those interested in the development of a national asset, has given its support.  Neighbouring canal societies including the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust and the Cotswold Canals Trust have equally urged for a through route.  And very importantly the businesses of Swindon, as represented by the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, are lending their strong support.  There have also been well over a hundred individual expressions of support.  Are you listening Forward Swindon?

Saying that the canal will remain 'a protected route' and can therefore be restored in the future is disingenuous.  Of course it can, in theory, but Forward Swindon knows as well as the Trust does that if the centre of Swindon goes through a massive redevelopment, no-one will be inclined to undertake another large exercise a few years later.

Forward Swindon cites cost as an obstacle.  The Trust has provided independent evidence that the benefits far outweigh the costs, but this has been ignored and not even mentioned.

Forward Swindon says that the canal is not deliverable 'throughout its whole length' within the plan's timescale'.  Who says?  No-one from Forward Swindon has ever asked the Trust about this. Indeed, Forward Swindon has not taken up suggestions from the Trust and the Partnership to carry out a full assessment of the costs and benefits of the project, and the timescales.  It might not be possible to reopen the whole 60 mile length; but it is certainly possible to open the section through Swindon, and connect to the national network, within that time.

Forward Swindon says that the focus of the masterplan is economic growth.  Why then are they ignoring a major driver of economic growth, estimated to be worth £10 million a year to Swindon?

The Trust asks Forward Swindon to do the following: 

• Make the 'processing' of the consultation responses an open and transparent process, and publish the results.
• Acknowledge the strength of the support for the canal.
• Engage with the Trust in a full and objective assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposal.

Perhaps it is time to remind Forward Swindon that its purpose and objective is to deliver what Swindon wants, not to frustrate it.  Swindon wants the canal, as expressed in official Swindon Borough planning policy and strategy.  Swindon business wants it.  National sporting and leisure bodies want it.  Oxfordshire and Wiltshire Councils want it.  The people of Swindon want it.  Time to start work on delivering it.

Yours faithfully

Ian Piper talks to the Swindon Advertiser

"We had a lot of comments regarding the canal and the fact that the whole length of it isn't shown on the plan....But it's still the protected route in the current documents and the canal route is still referred to in the draft local plan that will be coming out to consultation again soon" Swindon Advertiser 28^th Oct 2012

 An award-winning charity is urging planners to go back to the drawing board and reconsider the regeneration of Swindon town centre.

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust believes the current vision is "missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to maximise the impact of a restored waterway. Forward Swindon is consulting on a masterplan which would include bringing the canal back into the town through North Star as far as a basin adjacent to Station Road – crucially, it omits linking this section to the restored canal at Westleaze.

The Trust believes the scheme should be more ambitious and extend the restoration through the entire town so that more residents and businesses can enjoy the benefits of a new wildlife corridor which would attract tourism and employment. The charity, which recently received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, is now urging local people to take part in the consultation.

Canal Trust spokesman Chris Coyle said:

"We really do appreciate the hard work of everyone involved in preparing the current plans, but they run the risk of missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the most of this wonderful waterway. Estimates suggest the Swindon economy could benefit from an additional £10million per year if the Wilts & Berks was brought back to life, as well as increased leisure opportunities and improved access to the countryside.  The current plan to only bring the canal as far as Station Road means many parts of the town might miss out on these tremendous benefits. We are urging all of our 2,300 members to rally together and make their views known, and we hope other people will join our campaign too."

Chris added:

"The social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits of a restored waterway have already been demonstrated across the UK, where towns have seen the creation of new wildlife habitats and the establishment of canalside cafes and bars and other facilities. We are as keen as everyone else to see Swindon transformed and new jobs created, but we must look at the bigger picture. The reluctance to engage with this exciting project seems to revolve around concerns about the cost of the canal without looking at the benefit. Integrating a waterway into the regeneration will be a fraction of the cost of the scheme but will contribute a significant proportion of the additional economic benefit. We only have one chance to get this right. Every voice will count."

Visit www.swindonmasterplan.co.uk or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Melksham shoppers have been thanked for supporting a fundraising appeal organised by a local store.

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust was one of the beneficiaries of the Waitrose Community Matters scheme.
Shoppers receive a token at the checkout and then choose which of three charities they want to support.
The Canal Trust received £248 from a recent collection, which will be used to fund local workparties restoring the waterway.

The cheque was presented to Kath Hatton of the Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch by Waitrose branch manager Tom Warburton and Community Matters co-ordinator Samantha Parsons alongside the River Avon near Melksham Adventure Centre.
The charity hopes narrowboats from the Kennet & Avon Canal will use the river to pass through the town centre, using a lockgate by the weir, before exiting by the adventure centre to rejoin the historic line north of the town.

Kath said: "We are sincerely grateful for this generous donation from Waitrose and its customers, which will fund our workparties already bringing the waterway back to life in the local countryside.  With plans now submitted for the restoration of the canal through Melksham, we hope it won't be long before the river is transformed.  We we would like to see moorings above and below the town bridge, as well as a towpath and cycleway, together with new wildlife habitats including reed beds.  Rather than turning our back on the river, it would become an important amenity for the benefit of the whole community."

Tom said: "Each month we donate £1,000 between three local good causes chosen by our customers.  They receive a green token at the checkout which they can place in the box of the good cause they'd most like to support – the more tokens a cause gets, the bigger donation they receive.  We hope the money given to the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust will help the restoration campaign and we look forward to the day when narrowboats might be mooring near our store."

Over 100 people attended a public meeting at the Assembly Rooms on Thursday night, 6^th Dec to find out more details about the Melksham Link project.

Project delivery officer Ken Oliver showed  some of the detailed designs of the scheme which is now  being considered as a planning application by Wiltshire Council

The scheme includes a hydro power generator and some revolutionary ‘ arched bridges’ supplied as a flat-pack!.

The open meeting which was jointly arranged by the Melksham Trust and Melksham Community Area Partnership.

Many questions were raised and answered about the project and an informal show of hands gave  an overwhelming support for progressing the scheme.