Thanks to a £76,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Canal & River Trust staff will be working with volunteers from the Inland Waterways Protection society to carry out vital repairs to the historic Bugswroth Basin complex.
Thanks to a £76,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Canal & River Trust staff will be working with volunteers from the Inland Waterways Protection society to carry out vital repairs to the historic Bugswroth Basin complex.
The system of basins, wharves and arms once formed a major inland port, exchanging traffic between canal boats and horse-drawn tramway wagons as part of a transport system connecting the limestone quarries of Derbyshire to Manchester’s industries. Abandoned in the early 20th Century, the complex was rescued from dereliction by IWPS whose volunteers worked for four decades to restore it – culminating in a reopening in spring 2005.
Since then, volunteers have had what Ian Edgar, IWPS Chairman, describes as “a never-ending task of keeping Bugsworth Canal Basin in good order for all to enjoy” – but thanks to this grant, the Canal & River Trust’s staff will be able to join IWPS volunteers to take on the dismantling and rebuilding of the walls of a section known as the Wide, using traditional methods and skills. Preparation work is just starting, with the basins being drained and a fish rescue taking place. This will be followed by five months of restoration work, with the target being to reopen the basins before Easter 2014.
