Meetings, lots of meetings

Last week turned out to be very busy with a lot of interesting meetings.  We had our regular Land team meeting where discussions ranged over the whole length of the canal. The Habitat Management plan for Seven Locks is in final draft form and this will enable the local branch to work on maintenance/restoration over the next few years managing the site with due regard to all the wildlife. Work by the Land team to acquire leases or agreement to purchase on other sites continues quietly in the background. On Tuesday we met with Hall & Woodhouse to discuss other possible sites on the canal where we might work together and in the evening was the bi-monthly meeting Council of Management, held for the first time at the Peterborough Arms. It was a busy agenda, but we managed to find time for David Stirling to give us an update on the pub and plans for this year. On Wednesday I was looking into some possible European Funding towards the renovations on the pub and Thursday we had a very interesting visit at the Peterborough from Alan and Heather who run the Bell Inn at Lacock. They were very interested and excited by our plans, and since they have a lot of experience, they were very happy to pass on some good ideas. To finish off the week we met with the Wichelstowe team at Swindon Borough Council to discuss all the issues on this stretch. Unfortunately we will not be able to start on the new link between the two stretches of canal until at least the summer as Swindon BC is waiting to engage with a new partner for the development of the whole site, and they will have their own ideas on the layout of the site that we will have to discuss with them.

Hopefully this will be a quieter week – just some branch meetings and the PA Steering Committee. A chance to catch up with emails, meeting notes and some more bids for funds. Speaking of branch meetings, can I highlight the fact that all branches would welcome new volunteers – there are lots of things that they would appreciate some help with.  Swindon in particular would like some extra volunteers to help with the maintenance of the restored sections. If you are interested, just get in touch locally through the Swindon shop or ring or email the office on 0845 2268567 or info@wbct.org.uk

Kath Hatton