HS2 affects Chesterfield restoration

THE new high speed rail line between Birmingham and Leeds will greatly affect the restoration of the Chesterfield Canal, intersecting it in five places.

The proposed route goes through both Renishaw and Killamarsh, both of which are the focus of the further restoration of the waterway.  In addition, the proposal for a maintenance depot at Staveley means the line will pass within a few yards of the new Staveley Basin, pictured.

Intersect

The HS2 and the depot line will intersect with the proposed restoration route of the canal at the following points:

1. Between the new Railway Lock (5B) and the western end of Staveley Puddle Bank.
2. The eastern end of Staveley Puddle Bank.
3. Between Hague Bridge and Barlborough Road Bridge.
4. The Brindley Loops.
5. The northern end of the Railway Mile from Boiley New Bridge to where the canal veers off east just before Killamarsh Station.

Rother Link

The proposed Rother Link, utilising the river is also greatly affected, as the high speed rail link will run alongside the river all the way to Treeton, that covers two thirds of the route of the proposed Rother Link.

The Chesterfield Canal Trust has not had time to take any official position, but a spokesman relates that it seems abundantly clear that today is a key date in the history of the restoration. "Compared to the £33 billion cost of the scheme, the amount needed to fit our canal restoration into the plan is completely trivial. Yet it would help to mitigate the desecration elsewhere of lots of natural beauty. It seems a no brainer to us."