Lock fund going well
THE Chesterfield Canal Trust's appeal for funds to build a new lock at Staveley has topped £10,000, and with outstanding Gift Aid, it is nearly £12,000.
The appeal was originally launched in 2009, but was boosted last summer when the Donate a Brick appeal was launched. Since then sums from £5 to £1,000 have come in steadily from members and supporters all over the country.
The new lock will be built at Staveley Town Basin which is currently under construction. (Shown in the background of the picture.) It is required to lower the canal so that it can get under a railway line further east. It will be lock number 5A.
Designed and engineered by the Trust
The lock has been designed and engineered by the Trust and Derbyshire County Council working in partnership. It will be built by the Trust's volunteer Work Party.
They are no strangers to such an enterprise, having built a brand new Dixon's Lock from scratch in the 1990s after the original had been swept away by opencast mining. John Lower's picture shows Dixon's Lock under construction.
Work will start in the summer aided by the Waterway Recovery Group which is sending a party of volunteers for a fortnight in July.
Donate a brick
At Christmas, £390 was raised by people donating bricks as presents. Other donations have been made as birthday presents, as expressions of love and in memory of departed loved ones. The Trust provides a certificate to acknowledge such requests.
To donate a brick costs £5, a hodful of bricks is £50 and a barrowload of bricks is £100. For further details email: