Transportation - Canals

The Barnsley Canals Consortium has commissioned and received a consultant's report about the feasibility of restoring the Barnsley, Dearne and Dove. The purpose of the study was to determine whether canal restoration is viable and worth embarking on. The primary conclusion of the report is that the Barnsley, Dearne and Dove canal network is capable of restoration and reconstruction.

The Barnsley Canals Consortium is a Forum established in 2001. Its salient aim as promoted by its Memorandum of Understanding is to link the River Calder with the Don via a navigable inland waterway in order to regenerate the area economically, environmentally and socially.

The consortium has no legal status as yet, but the active membership of the Consortium is made up of representatives from Barnsley MBC, Wakefield MDC, the Barnsley Dearne and Dove Canals Trust, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), the Royston and Carlton Community Partnership, British Waterways, the Environment Agency and UK Coal and the Calder Navigation society. Many of these organizations and several others involved in regeneration of the area traversed by the canal, have recognised the importance of the restoration of the link and all that it means and have generously contributed to the aforementioned study (Barnsley, Dearne and Dove feasibility of restoration study. Other organisations including British Waterways, the Environment Agency have offered support to the development of the Consortium in a number of other ways.

The findings of the Study will be subject of public consultation, during autumn 2006, s part of Barnsley's Local Development Framework.

Contacts

Ann Beddoes 01226 772632