Those of you who’ve visited our historic aqueduct over the last several years will have noticed the lack of progress with its restoration. Damage to the structure caused by water leaking through from the old canal channel can only be properly repaired once the channel has been made watertight. Unfortunately, Western Power (who own the high voltage cables running through the channel) were insisting on being paid £250,000 to move the cables to allow work to take place, although this has now been reduced to £150,000 – still a massive sum.
The good news is that a committee made up of local parish and borough councillors, members of the local history society and borough council officers has been meeting to try and find a way of getting this historic structure properly restored to ensure its long-term survival.
Action so far:
* Meeting to discuss the situation with reference to the Sandstone
Aqueduct in the older part of Aqueduct to look at a potential funding
strategy over the next two to three years with T&WBC (April); second
meeting planned to start and firm up a work programme (May).
* Western Power, have agreed to reduced their costs to 150k (plus
VAT) for the cabling across the structure; but a campaign and lobby
needs to be built to get the company to fund all the costs.
* The annual inspection of the structure is due in June this year,
the ducking which Western Powers cables run through will be inspected
to see if they are a contributing factor to the water leakage and
deterioration to the structure so that it can be establish the extent
of their responsibility/liability as a company to argue for the
above.
* Work is underway to potentially lobby English Heritage and
Ironbridge Gorge Museum about the status of the Grade II listed
structure and the importance of its survival to industrial/canal
heritage in the UK.
* Officer time has been agreed with T&WBC to undertake a potential
Veolia landfill tax outline on line bid (subject to an eligibility
check).
* A consultation brief will need to be agreed in terms of a
Heritage Lottery bid (the Council have registered an interest on line
already); agreements have yet to be made of how best to engage the
local community and by whom; a role clearly could be developed with
the history society to strength the bid with consultation over the
summer of 2014 links back to the first point on a funding strategy.
* Meeting has already been convened to explore options within the
framework of the Military Covenant and the potential links through
143 Brigade to Engineers for example and local regiments established
around the same time as the structure was built to see what can be
achieved/secured, additional follow up in the pipeline.
* 50k (over 2 years) has been secured by Cllrs Fran Bould and Jane
Pinter to invest in the project from the Council; they already hold
and additional 50k from the HCA (Homes & Communities Agency); several
other avenues of funding are also being explored/investigated.
* Agreement to help with the bidding for resources (saving 20k from
the amounts above) through a Community Interest Community Pisces WM;
if successful potential of some programme management funding to be
allocated.
Areas for further discussions:
* Draft leaflet to update the neighborhood.
* Launch of a petition re lobbying for resources.
* Press release about need and community action.
Aqueduct Local History 