spring volunteer celebration event

7th April 2016

… and thank you to all our

volunteers and partners.

Wayne BallVolunteer Development Coordinator

A charitable company run

entirely by volunteers

Michael Edwards

Trustee

The Chesterfield Canal Trust / Society, has been in existence for

39 years.

• To promote the restoration of the Chesterfield Canal.

• To promote the fullest use of the waterway for the benefit of the public.

• To promote, and educate the public, in the history, use of and associated wildlife of the waterway.

• To date 12 miles of canal, 36 locks, and 11 major road bridges have been restored, plus two new marinas have been built.

• There are 8 miles left to restore, and the Rother Valley Link to build. The total cost for work to be done stands at £60 million

• Volunteer hours contributed by members

has increased from 17,000 to 25,000 since

2011 - an increase of 47%

• Membership 1557 (September 2015)

• What we do........promoting, improving and

protecting the canal

• Over 4,500 people experienced

the canal on our trip boats and

learnt about the heritage and

ecology of the Chesterfield

Canal.

• 2,000 people met Santa on a

canal trip, and helped

contribute to the continued

restoration of the canal.

• Our trip boats raised a

considerable sum for the Trust

and its restoration activities.

• Dawn Rose, the first wooden

Chesterfield narrowboat to be

built for 80 years, was launched

in April 2015, named in June

2015 and continues to develop

as a project.

• Volunteers have contributed

over 10,000 hours of work since

the project began.

• Python, our 85 year old work

boat, has been re-bottomed

and will be back promoting the

canal and telling the story of

life on the canals.

• The Trust took part in the

Canal and River Trust

"Worksop Water Day" in June,

but did not hold its own festival

this year.

• The Trust will host the Inland

Waterways Association

National Trailboat Festival in

May, 2016 at the Staveley

Canal Basin.

• Towpath walks have often been oversubscribed and the canal

has been the walk of choice for many individuals and walking

groups.

• 55,000 walkers and 18,000 cyclists used at least part of the

Cuckoo Way.

• The Cuckoo members' magazine went into full colour production this year as it has now become cheaper to print in full colour than with black and white photographs.

• The E newsletter now has a mailing list of 1,200 up from 80 at its beginning

• The Trust has now appointed its own Wildlife Officers to stimulate greater environmental awareness along the towpath.

• The Trust continues to monitor planning applications along the canal, working to ensure good design and best practice, and where necessary making the case for or against planning applications impacting on the canal.

• The Trust’s Talks Team have attended 25 engagements through the year including local history, wildlife, British Legion, Women's’ Institute groups and with audiences varying between 12 and 200 people.

• The Trust spent over £63,000 on canal restoration during the year.

• The Work Party has virtually finished Staveley Town Lock.

• None of this work would have been possible without the partnership with Derbyshire County Council and Markham Vale and without the support of the IWA Waterway Recovery Group.

• Over £40,000 has been raised for the Lock Fund from donations since the project started.

• The Trust will not hear a decision on the route of HS2 until

autumn, 2016 - this will slow restoration beyond Hartington and

the railway line. Plans are afoot to move on to other sections of

the canal in need of restoration.

• The Trust continues to be represented on all elements of the Chesterfield Canal Partnership.

• The Partnership is 20 years old, and continues to command support from our Partners. The geographic Delivery Groups are all active, pursuing restoration and promotion.

• The Rother Valley Link is being actively investigated, led by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, as part of the creation of a walking, cycling and eventually cruising ring linking the Chesterfield Canal through the Rother Link, to the South Yorkshire Navigations and using the River Trent.

• From Derbyshire County Council on restoration and development of Staveley Town Basin and Lock;

• From the Canal and River Trust in respect of matters relating to the development of HS2

• From the Inland Waterways Association, through the Waterways Recovery Group, for restoration, and through the Keith Ayling Bequest in the restoration of Python.

• Chair on East Midlands Waterway Partnership group

• Development strategy – Rother Link

• Joint working – clean up days

• Links with Towpath Rangers

• Taskforce Days

John Guyler

Ray Rogers

Treasurer