Welcome to the official home of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society

Bolton: Creams Paper Mill Site

The historic Creams paper mill has been largely demolished (apart from the shed on the line of the canal!) Planning permission for a housing development has been submitted. The development does not include the canal (or the shed), but it does include a new two-lane bridge across the canal, alongside the existing Bailey Bridge. The Society will be responding to the plans, along with British Waterways, to try to obtain the best outcome for the canal in Little Lever. We have been concentrating our recent working party efforts on the canal here.

Bury: Western Waterside

Bury Council has issued new strategic plans for Bury Town Centre, as a 'Vision and development strategy update'. Section 13.1 is the Western Waterside, centred on the terminus of the MB&BC. It updates the former 'Bury But Better Vision'. This is a shortened version.

Updated Vision

The vision retains the strategy of a new mixed-use waterside scheme. We have suggested that this is considered in the long-term to allow time for the canal restoration to come forward. However, if land owners wanted to bring forward projects in line with the vision in advance of this we see no reason why they should be resisted. There would be value in putting the canal back in water even before it can be connected to the wider network and this in itself would be a spur to development.

The masterplan is based on reopening canal on its original line, which had two arms at the northern end. A marina is proposed at the terminus of the canal which, along with any adjacent public space, would form an important focal point to attract people to the area from the town centre. It is likely that the Bridge Trading Estate (owned by British Waterways) will need to be relocated for the development of the area to be achievable. A new bridge is proposed over the River Irwell on a direct route from Sankey Street.

A series of development plots is envisaged as four storey blocks with commercial ground floors created in two areas, Canalside North and Canalside South. Due to the flood risk issues the land between the canal alignment and the River Irwell is not considered suitable for residential development.

Development within Canalside North consists of predominantly residential property west of Albion Street and commercial property within the flood zone and either side of the canal. Blocks within Canalside South to the west of the canal are more likely to consist of residential development. In both areas there are a number of buildings, such as Victoria Mills and Albion Mill (and the reservoir directly east of Albion Street) that have been retained in the proposals either because they are required by adjacent uses or are of industrial heritage value to the area.

The full document can be seen at: www.bury.gov.uk; and search for Western Waterside.

Salford: Park House Bridge

The original brick arch was replaced by a new wider wrought iron girder bridge in 1887. This bridge was later underfilled, and this is where the canal now emerges from the infilled length in Salford (see Towpath Guide, page 18).

Our working parties cleared the then impassable canal towpath from here to Agecroft Road Bridge in July 2009, but the approach at Park House Bridge was heavily overgrown, and had been used as dump for tyres and other refuse. Altomese Brown, Regeneration Officer of the Charlestown and Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities, took the lead to get the area cleared up, but the process was complicated as the Northwest Regional Development Agency rather strangely owned the central part of the site (only 13m by 6m).

The plan was to fence off the area, but (at our insistence) to create a new well-graded access route to the towpath. One site meeting included Altomese, several Salford planners, NWDA, British Waterways, two contractors, plus Steve Dent and Paul Hindle from the MB&BCS! And the work had to start before the end of the financial year. By mid-April the site had been cleared, the new access route created and the fencing erected; a chicane to limit vehicle access was still to be installed

Other updates this month are available from the Chairman and Regeneration Manager

Sales

The Sales stand is usually present at all open meetings

It will also be at Prestwich Clough Day, Sunday 16th May 2010, 12 - 5pm

The official opening of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal has happened!

Here you can see the first boat entering the new deep lock.

For full details on the opening of the canal, click here.

For photos of the event, click here

For the video of the event, click here

OBE

We are extremely pleased that our Chairman, John Fletcher, has been recognised with an OBE for services to the inland waterways.

John was a founder member of the Society in August 1987, and has been on the Council for a majority of the past 22 years. He was for some years our Company Secretary, and he took on the Chairmanship following the death of the former Chairman, his late wife Margaret, in May 2006. The recent restoration of the Middlewood section of our canal is very much due to the tenancy and long hours of lobbying for the necessary funding by both John and Margaret.

In addition he has provided outstanding service to the Inland Waterways Association, particularly during his six years as National Chairman. He advanced the cause of the inland waterways in securing and encouraging funding for canals and river navigations. He has travelled the length and breadth of the country to promote inland waterways, and was a great modernising chairman of the Association, helping to revitalise its campaigns and funding, and streamlining its organisational arrangements. Thus his work is widely recognised and appreciated, not only in the MB&BCS, but throughout the waterway network