First narrowboat at Staveley

A CROWD of delighted spectators welcomed the narrowboat John Varley into Staveley Town Basin yesterday (Friday)—the first boat into the the new basin.

In fact it was the first canal boat on this stretch for over fifty years, with the canal having been derelict for all this time, with eventually open cast mining taking place on the site, and for the past year work progressing with the building of the basin. The picture shows John Varley about to set off for the basin on its historic journey, with picture below showing its arrival to the delight of the crowd.

Partly recovered

The basin was partly recovered when the new Staveley Relief Road was completed two years ago, but over the last 11 months contractors have been building the basin.

For many years, members of the Chesterfield Canal Trust's volunteer Work Party have given up their free time to build a washwall nearly 600 metres long to link the basin to Mill Green.

Three weeks to fill

The contractors, Killingley's, did the final excavations just before Christmas and it took nearly three weeks for the basin to fill with water.

Derbyshire County Councillor John Allsop, the Cabinet Member for Recycling and Technology, made a short speech thanking all those who had been involved, then went on to announce:

"This will make it a more attractive location for boats and fulfil our aim of improving the area for visitors, which is part of our wider commitment to boosting tourism."

Money from agency

A total of £500,000 came through a grant from the East Midlands Development Agency, with Derbyshire County Council giving £75,000, and the council's engineers directing the project.

The basin has already proved to be a massive attraction for walkers, cyclists and those who just stand and stare in amazement. Over the next two months nearly two miles of the towpath will be resurfaced. This will make an already hugely popular walk even more pleasant.

New lock

There is still much to be done on the basin site. The volunteers will be building the new lock all summer. The lock is needed to lower the level of the canal to get under a railway line. There are also plans for buildings on the site; firstly a bunkhouse and training centre, then later several cottages will be built.

On 30th June and 1st July, the Chesterfield Canal Trust will hold a Festival on the basin site as part of Staveley Feast, with three trip boats.