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From "New Wych", The magazine of the Droitwich Canals Trust.
What would the cost of restoring the Bradley Locks be?
Assuming the lock chambers are in fair to good condition and not requiring a great deal of restoration of the masonary, the greater part of the cost would be digging out replacing the lock gates and paddle gear. Using the restored locks of the Droitwich Junction Canal as a bench mark I would make a guess of between £300,000 and £400,000, or half a million tops. Restoration of the three Junction Locks cost £120,000 with a combined force of volunteers and BW staff, who led the porject.
Various studies would have to be undertaken; Engineering Studies, Environmental Studies, Economic Studies and so forth, which all add to the bill. The advice and opinions of the consultant experts do not come cheap and their recommendations tend to fall into the higher price bracket to implement.
Restoring the Junction Canal looks to work out at around £2.5 million but this involved new cut and building new locks, so restoring the Bradley Branch and linking it to the truncated old line of the Brindley Canal should work out cheaper. Hopefully less than £2 million. Of course the consultant experts will produce a different figure, but this looks like a ball park figure from which to start.
The question has to be is the scheme worth it? In my view it most definitely is for several reasons. The area could use development and job creation. From the boaters point of view there is the opportunity to open up a large canal basin providing much needed additional moorings; an economic gain for the area.
Looking at the historical map of Birmingham Canals the triangle formed between Wednesbury, Pudding Green Junction and Deepfields Junction the area was littered with canal branches until they were all swept away in the 1950's and 60's. Along with many railways there was a mania for shutting down and wiping out our heritage. Since then of course we have been busy rescing, renovating and restoring much of what fell under the axe. We cannot save all these lost canals, but restoring the Bradley Branch would serve to represent the others that are lost forever from this once busy canal area where the industrail revolution took root and prospered - the link would preserve one of the oldesy Brindley canals and one of the last canal built in 1849.
The problem with restoring canals is the time it seems to take between starting to get the scheme off the ground, generating public and political support, building the case and dispelling the sceptics, carrying out the raft of surveys that precedes funding applications and then waiting for approval. In between are the men in suits having loads of meetings, discussing the pros and cons and putting decisions on the back burner. There seems to be no fast track route. I think I read somewhere it takes fifty people to suport one soldier in the field. In the case of canal restorers you have the same pyramid but it is inverted and probably most of them have never been near a canal boat in their life. The qualities of being a successful canal restorer is to endure the blood sweat and tears and have infinite patience. You quickly realise the only person in a hurry to get the job done is you and sometimes a newspaper looking for a good article, but they are like summer butterflies.
The real problem is that as you work patientl through all the procedures the cost goes on mounting at an alarming rate. I think the Bradley Locks will be restored because it is a project with a lot of merit and not too expensive, but I would hate to put a final figure of what the scheme will cost. The first hurdle is to find people with the drive and enthusiasm to want it to happen and to set up the organisation. The organistion then has to raise funds to Support its activities. You could argue that without the difficulties here would be no real sense of achievement - providing you live that long of course.
I am going to be optimistic and suggest that on its merits the Bradley locks could potentially be a fast track restoration. In the present climate it meets all the criteria for funding with few of the obstacles that blight other canal restoration schemes. It is an area where people have a sentimental attachment to canals, many of them descended from canal families.
The scheme enhances a deprived area. It has a potential for development and yielding an economic gain. No serious land ownership problems. Nothing to upset the environmentalists. No insoluble technical problems. The track bed is complete and short with much of the structures still in good order. It should be a winner and it will be popular with boaters and help fill the desperate need for new moorings.
Lets cross our fingers and hope.