Encouragement for Uttoxeter Canal restoration

There was official encouragement for the restoration of the Uttoxeter Canal, when Nick Herbert MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs travelled to visit the waterway to meet members of the Restoration Committee and local County Councillors.

Of the work, Nick related:

"This initiative is an excellent community project and could be the catalyst of a rural regeneration scheme for the north of the Uttoxeter and its surrounding areas. It is this sort of ground based enthusiasm, led by the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust working with their local Councillors that makes things happen and I am very impressed."

Mike Maryon, Chairman of the Uttoxeter Restoration Committee enthused:

"I am delighted that the Shadow Secretary of State could take time out of his busy schedule to visit the Uttoxeter Canal. The Canal Trust briefed him on the many benefits to the area ranging from tourism and leisure through to ecological enhancements, as well as the current feasibility study that is being undertaken.

"The line of the canal is still almost entirely intact thanks to its rural location and I am absolutely delighted that I can help the volunteers of the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust whose dedication to restoring what could become a fantastic asset to Uttoxeter. If the scheme goes ahead it will not only help to enhance an area of natural beauty by revitalising part of a quarry but will also bring natural environmental improvements to the area and all long its path."

Picture shows: Left to Right—Uttoxeter Canal Trust members Mike Beardmore, Ivor Lucas, and Mike Maryon, Nick Herbert MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Uttoxeter Town County Councillor Geoff Morrison.