Crowdfunding Appeal Nears Target For Canal Lock Restoration

Crowdfunding Appeal Nears Target For Canal Lock Restoration

Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust are on the home strait to securing the necessary funds for a major volunteer restoration project to take place at the end of July.

The Trust launched a £4,000 Crowdfunder appeal last month to fund restoration work at the Borrowash Lock.

They are just £300 shy of their total – thanks to a match funding pledge from Derby City Council and further support in building the Crowdfunder from Community Action Derby.

The Crowdfunder appeal, entitled ‘I want my canal back’ closes on Friday July 20 when, providing £2,000 has been raised, it will be matched by the City Council.

This will provide the equipment and materials for a troop of volunteers from the national Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) to join local Trust volunteers in re-building the Borrowash Lock.

Supporters can make a donation or can buy a special reward including one of the first boat trips on the River Derwent between the Silk Mill and Darley Abbey which the Trust plans to start running next summer.

The Borrowash Lock was excavated in 1998 and the stretch of canal from the lock to Station Road was then dug out with the help of WRG volunteers.

Work has been stepped up over the past two years and the July project will see volunteers spending a week restoring the lock chamber including replacing the original coping stones – some of which weigh several tons- along the edge of the lock using heavy lifting equipment.

This will be integral to the overall aim to fix the lock gates, bring back water to the channel for recreational boating and build a foot and cycle bridge over the lock.

Trust Chairman Chris Madge explained: “The response from the public to the Crowdfunding appeal has been amazing and we have just a few days left to raise the money to have the equipment and materials in place for this restoration work.

“We are extremely lucky to have received support from the WRG staff and volunteers so need to make the best use of their time and muscles.

“A great deal of work has already been completed at Borrowash Lock and the canal line surrounding it and we hope that people who share our passion for the benefits that canals and waterways bring to local communities will support us in this project.”

Mr Madge continued the Borrowash Lock was an important step in their overall aim to restore a 13 mile stretch of the former Derby Canal between the city, Swarkestone and Sandiacre.

This stretch would then connect to the Trent and Mersey and Erewash Canals - creating a 25 mile cruising ring with access to more than 2,000 miles of navigable waterways across the UK.

As well as restoring the canal, the ambitious programme includes creating an ‘arm’ lift to take boats down from the canal to the river level in Pride Park so that they can then travel up the Derwent to the Silk Mill in the city centre.

Donations can be made until the closing date of July 20 at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/i-want-my-canal-back and for more information about the wider project, please visit www.derbycanal.org.uk 

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