Glorious weather and lots to look forward to.

The AMEC report on the economic and tourism benefits to Melksham from the Melksham Link is eagerly awaited by many – it is drafted and should be available by the end of the month. It will help to raise the profile of the Wilts & Berks and hopefully will boost our fundraising. These days much funding is based on how many jobs can be created and this report will tell us that and more.

Timothy West and Prunella Scales did a great job of promoting canals in their programme on the Kennet & Avon Canal last week. It really is that busy on some of the stretches of the K & A, can’t wait for Melksham to be the same in a few years time.

The plans to link the new canal at Wichelstowe and the old line at Kingshill are well underway with costs being worked out. I hear it is to be called the Wichelstowe Link. I’m looking forward to the new Waitrose store opening there on the 10th April, I will be able to do my shopping after meetings at Spittleborough! The café will have splendid views of the canal and what a boost it will be for trips on Dragonfly. There are other projects that could be started in Swindon, we just need a few more volunteers to lead them. You don’t have to have specific qualifications or be an engineer, we work in teams with a good deal of expertise on hand so the leader is not working alone. Come and talk to us!

Jeff and Linda have again organised the 200 Club this year and they report that 256 tickets have been sold, a few more than last year. As usual half the takings go into prizes and half into a fund for the branches who will be able to apply for money towards a piece of equipment or a restoration project. The first draw will be made at Council of Management meeting on 25th March. Thank you Jeff and Linda for all your hard work.
I hope all this lovely dry weather is helping to reduce the water level in that damaged culvert at Pewsham so that we can fully inspect it and work out the best way to repair it as soon as possible.

Kath Hatton

Spring Optimism

Well, maybe. We have lots of reasons to appreciate the arrival of Spring over the weekend, but one or two clouds about as well. There is lots of good news and progress, even if the latter is not as fast as we would like. First of all, we have made an offer to Wadworth for the purchase of the Peterborough Arms at Dauntsey Lock. They have accepted it subject to us guaranteeing an early completion, which we feel unable to do, so they have felt obliged to put it back on the market. We are continuing with the process despite that. Kath Hatton and I took the opportunity of a fine day last week to go and visit the Wey and Arun Canal Trust. They have a very active canal restoration under way, and we wanted to see what we could learn, what we had in common, and what they do differently. In terms of things in common, there were lots of similarities; they too have landowner issues, and not enough money (of course). Their group of active volunteers is perhaps a little larger than ours, in proportion to their membership. We were interested to learn how they organise themselves differently; their canal is much shorter than ours, so there is no branch structure, and they seem to organise themselves round themes rather than geographically. They also seem to have a good track record in attracting sponsorship to pay for things like vehicles and plant hire. They have focused their efforts at Loxwood, where there is a busy pub by a main road, a trip boat operation, and a modern visitor centre. In the meantime we make progress on other projects and fronts, but more of that another time. Chris Coyle

Spring just around the corner..somebody please tell the weather!

The last week of February has seen no let up in the pace of the continuing work of planning- in all senses of the word. Friday was a concentrated ‘Swindon day’ where Kath Chris and myself were pleased to welcome Richard Parry the newly appointed Chief Executive of the Canal & River Trust. In weather that we have become all too familiar with this winter we toured the canal at East Wichel followed by a whistle stop reconnoitre of the route into the town centre. We hope that this visit will lead to further co-operation with CRT to deliver the Wilts & Berks restoration as an important part of a new southern canals network. The Bayberry Public House was our temporary site office for the day as the morning meeting with Richard was swiftly followed by a meeting with the new Wichelstowe Waitrose manager Simon Adkins. Waitrose are pleased to have their newest store (opening April) located on the canalside and are keen to work with WBCT to explore activity on the water. Chris not only ended the week in Swindon but started there too with further discussions with the branch team about the new canal and the proposed project to link East Wichel canal to Westleaze ( Wichelstowe Link) at the earliest opportunity. All the Trust project managers came together on Tuesday night to discuss progress and plans at the bi- monthly Trust Project Board. To assist the team we are currently liaising with two new volunteers who we hope will be able to take up the role of project support officers. Work on the new slipway at Melksham continues and we hope that the river levels will stay low enough for the work to be completed shortly. Elsewhere comments on the planning application for the restoration at Studley Grange close this week (4th)- you can comment via the North Wiltshire planning section of www.wiltshire.gov.uk searching for reference 14/00914. Finally we three have been found out! The title of the Blog is the Wilts & Berks weekly but so far this year we have managed only fortnightly . We have resolved to do better ..only time will tell....Ken Oliver

Half term events....Pewsham Locks ..looking east... partnership working... another busy week!

The Sharing Heritage project got off to a brilliant start last week at Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre. Wilts & Berks Canal Trust volunteers teamed up with the Museum staff to provide half-term activities for children. There was tremendous interest and the children loved it. Activities included making model narrowboats from balsa wood, simple rope making and knot tying, canalware painting, archaeology challenge, colouring & word searches and a storyteller. There was an opportunity to talk to the children and their parents about the canal and its restoration. Many thanks to Heritage Lottery Fund for funding it and to all the volunteers that worked hard to make it a success. Many said they will attend the Open Days at Pewsham Locks on 20th and 21st June. Other good news at Pewsham – the planning permission for Top Lock and the Cottage has been granted subject to access agreements. And more .... a lease has been granted by the Bowood Estate for land either side of the A4.This will keep the MCC volunteers busy for some time! The team is taking advice from ecologists at Ellendale Environmental on the best way to clear the towpath and canal track with an eye to local wildlife habitat. A first meeting was held to discuss the strategy for the Eastern End of the canal now that the reservoir project seems to have disappeared into the long grass. It is important to raise our profile so that developers and land owners start to take the project seriously. We could do with more volunteers at this end to help plan and execute our strategies. A meeting between Wiltshire Wildlife Trust(WWT) and the Trust took place last week in the Swindon shop used by the Trust. It was arranged to discuss the possibility of sharing the shop premises but unfortunately there is not enough space. However the Trust offered to house a stand for WWT in the shop and various other ideas for working together are emerging. The Escape to the Country programme that included some footage of the Wilts & Berks at Pewsham went out as planned on 13th February. They described it as “an epic canal restoration”! However, I must admit that I have been a bit disappointed that the Trust has not received any feedback following the show. I’ll finish on a cheerful note - the slipway in Melksham is progressing well and now that the weather has improved and river levels gone down, it will hopefully soon be finished. Kath Hatton

Escape to the Wilts & Berks

This has been another busy period for the Trust. Following comments received from a number of sources, we have been trying to improve the ways in which we get information out to our members. Hence this blog; we would be interested to receive feedback on whether you the members find it useful. We are also keeping up our monthly online newsletter, On The Button. As part of the same initiative, we offered to give presentations to branches, giving an update on the latest position on the Trust's organisation and current projects. This seems to have been well received as an initiative - we gave three of them in one week. Again, comments on how useful they were, whether we should repeat them, and how often, would be helpful. I think this week has been unusual, in that for the first time for a long time we don't seem to have submitted an application for planning permission! All of the previous applications are working their way through, and we expect to be able to carry forward the work on a number of projects in the near future. Swindon Branch held an Open Evening at the East Wichel Community Hall on Saturday; it was well attended by local members, with a good number of visitors as well. Liz Payne gave a very interesting update on progress on the Cotswold Canals, particularly the work at the Western end around Stroud. Some useful pointers from a restoration trust which is very successful at gaining new members, as well as significant funding. The branch took the opportunity to hold its AGM, and new Chairman and Treasurer were elected. Good luck to Rod and Peter, and to Oliver as well who has recently become the Secretary. We have reached an important point in our discussions with Wadworth over the possible purchase of the Peterborough Arms. They have responded to our offer with a counter-offer; the Trust's Council of Management will be considering the next steps very carefully, weighing all the factors involved. One of our Directors attended a Thames Water forum recently, and reported that the proposed reservoir near Abingdon seems to be slipping back in terms of both priority and timing in their thinking. This seems to give the opportunity and the stimulus for the Trust to re-think the strategy in the eastern end. If we know that the reservoir will not be built for at least ten to fifteen years, what can and should we be doing ion the meantime to move our project forward? Remembering of course that if we do nothing in an area, the chances are that things will in fact slip backwards, as developments take place which take no account of the canal or our plans for restoration. And finally, the Wilts & Berks will be on TV this week! We understand that the episode of 'Escape to the Country' which featured the canal as one of the attractions of Wiltshire will be broadcast on BBC1 this Thursday 13th February at 3.45pm. Chris Coyle

Water water everywhere

You will have already seen from Kath’s blog last week that 2014 has got off to busy start and I am pleased to say that the pace continues. This week the project has lodged another major planning application with Wiltshire Council for restoration of the canal at Studley Grange Royal Wootton Bassett. The majority of this section is alongside the landfill site operated by Biffa Waste Ltd. The plan is to use the material that has infilled the canal for many years (subject to suitability) as part of the landscaping scheme on the now closed adjacent landfill site. The Trust’s Council of Management met on Tuesday and made some important strategic decisions. Directors agreed to enter into a contract (at no cost to the Trust) to commission a Masterplan for restoration. If suitable sponsorship can be found this work will be carried out over the next 12 months. We were sad to hear that the new Chairman designate Sir John Wilsey has been diagnosed with cancer and in order to accommodate the treatment but not to lose his valuable connections and experience, it was decided to appoint him to be a Vice-President for the time being. We wish him a speedy recovery. The directors have also decided to appoint a retained consultant ecologist(s) to advise on plans for restorations. The Dauntsey Lock Visitor centre project was discussed - the current feasibility study is continuing and negotiations with the current owners of the Peterborough Arms are also still in progress. The second application for Pewsham Locks (ref 13/06760/FUL) has now been registered - this should allow an earlier start on Top Lock and cottage than the application for the whole site, which is awaiting further ecological studies. The Seven Locks project team met this week and are currently looking at the scope and technical details for a revised planning application following the Trust’s purchase of the site. Work started this week on the new slipway at Melksham which will allow safe access to the river adjacent to the canoe club. We made a presentation to the East Wichel Community Association about our plans for the Wichelstowe area. The community is very supportive of the canal, and is helping already with our maintenance tasks. We also made some useful contacts with the management of the new Waitrose store which will be opening in April. The wet weather over Christmas thankfully caused only one major engineering problem - a collapsed culvert near Pewsham Locks- remedial works have been put in place to prevent any further damage until a proper assessment can be made and a repair made. Ken Oliver

A rather belated New Year Blog!

Good news to start 2014! Chippenham Area Board has voted to award a grant of £4849 to Melksham, Calne and Chippenham branch for bank stabilisation at Pewsham. This will enable the branch to bring the water levels up and will ensure stable banks and towpath in the section just north of Double Bridge. It is hoped that the restored work boat Boswell will be launched at Pewsham later this year. And there is more.... .... planning permission has been granted for the Templars Firs extension project at Royal Wootton Bassett. Completion of this project will extend the canal from its current terminus west to Marlborough Road through the site where the old Depot buildings are now. This will give a good length of canal in water – just right for a new trip boat! Maybe that’s a task that the new Manager of Boats, Mike Lang, will take on? Speaking of boats – plans for the River Festival at Melksham on September 6th and 7th are taking shape. Ian Simpson, a member from Keevil, is heading up the team, with Paul Lenaerts in support. Melksham Town Council who are experienced at running events such as the Food Festival and Party in the Park are helping to source local traders. It is hoped that there will be trail boats and some steam boats in attendance. It should help to promote the Melksham Link project as well as commemorating our 100 year anniversary of abandonment. At Wichelstowe, we are talking to Swindon Borough Council about joining up the new section of the canal with the old route – hopefully this process will start later this year. There are a lot of possibilities in Swindon for extending the canal and towpath and I hope the special open meeting planned for 8th February at East Wichel Community Hall will be well supported and that more Swindon members will come forward to get involved and re-invigorate the branch. What’s happening at the Peterborough Arms? No definite news yet, we are still negotiating with Wadworth and are carrying on with the feasibility work for which we have had a grant of £30K from Locality. We continue to receive some donations and pledges and we are grateful to everyone who has contributed. Happy New Year everyone -I believe 2014 will be a great year for the Trust. Kath Hatton