IWA Press Release - IWA Announce a £5,000 grant for the Lichfield Canal

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has announced that it has given a £5,000 grant to the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust towards the acquisition of land alongside the Tamworth Road in Lichfield. The land contains a former canal channel and will enable the trust to progress the restoration of the Lichfield Canal.

Neil Edwards, IWA’s chief executive, said,

'This grant will not only help the Trust to restore the former canal channel on the land in question but also to facilitate the eventual restoration of the Lichfield Canal recreating the crucial 7-mile link between the Coventry Canal and the end of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, thus helping to bring the sadly under-used waterways around Walsall back to life. The restoration of the Lichfield Canal will also offer leisure opportunities for the residents of Lichfield and help to enhance their local environment’.

Brian Kingshott, chairman of the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, explained,

‘We are delighted that IWA has decided to award this grant to us. Although work on the canal has been in progress for many years under licence, the acquisition of this land, through IWA’s grant, has enabled the Trust to enter into a formal 50-year lease with Lichfield City Council to restore the original Wyrley & Essington Canal Ogley section through Lichfield, now known as the Lichfield Canal. The 50-year lease means that the Trust is in a better position to apply for funding from larger bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the remaining parts of the Lichfield Canal’.

Through the Trust’s work, the Lichfield Canal has seen an increase in volunteer activity in recent months and the Trust hopes to have a short section in water in the near future.

For more information please contact,

Jessica Letters, IWA Project Officer, 01923 711 114 extension 24