Cromford wants £200,000 from council

Published: Monday, 15 November 2010

FRIENDS of Cromford Canal have petitioned Derbyshire County Council to help with £200,000 for dredging a three quarter mile stretch of the waterway.

This is to allow a horse drawn boat to operate along the length to be used by tourists and school children. Over 600 hundred people have signed the petition which refers to the pound at the terminus of the canal at Cromford to where it meets the High Peak Trail, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Little chance of funding

However, Derbyshire County Council is facing drastic cuts and redundancies, with an estimated £84 millions of saving in its next four financial years, so it seems there will be little chance of any funding from that quarter in the foreseeable future.  Other sources include Leader funding, but that would amount to just £50,000.

The Friends want the section of canal cleared by spring 2012, as dredging needed to be done in winter so as not to disturb wildlife such as water voles.