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Two unique historic concrete boats are being restored to full working order thanks to a £6,000 grant from the Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material (PRISM) and match funding from the Friends of the National Waterways Museum. The grant will help with the restoration of a concrete narrowboat BCN No.2, the oldest concrete narrowboat in the world, and concrete barge. Concrete narrowboat BCN No.2. is of great historical interest as the oldest surviving concrete narrowboat in the world. She was a prototype built in 1918, at the end of the First World War, as a day boat for the Birmingham Canal Navigations by A.H. Guest of Amblecote, Stourbridge. "Concrete boats usually ended their days shoring up banks of canals and rivers and we are very lucky to have these two boats in our collection. Once the restoration work is complete they will provide a vital reminder for people of the industrail side of our canal bost history."
Waterscape Oct 2005Canal Bus is Back
Business leaders in Brownhills are pushing ahead with plans to float a Venetian style waterbus to ferry shoppers to and from Walsall town centre.
Ed. Sounds interesting - at what speed in the weed? Express & Star Oct 2005Cala aiming to complete Loop development with £20m deal
A huge £20 million residential scheme - which will complete development alogside Birmingham's Brindley Loop Canal Basin - is being planned by Cala Homes(Midlands).
Cala has applied for planning permission to build 185 one and two bed room apartments with two commercial units, while at the same time submitting a masterplan for the development of a further 115 apartments on adjacent land owned by British Waterways Board. Birmingham Post 7 Mail Sept 28 2005Sainsbury's £300m facelift
A huge £300 million regeneration scheme which could create more than 1,000 jobs has been unveiled for a Birmingham suburb.
The proposal by Sainsbury's builds on a previous plan to breathe new life into Selly Qak's former Battery Works area, and would be one of the biggest schemes of its kind in the city. Birmingham Post 2nd December 2005Bishop leaves Birminghan on the Canal
Former Bishop for Birmingham the Rt Rev Dr John Sentamu, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, said his final farewell to the city yesterday.
The newly-appointed Archbishop of York preached at the communion service, and made his departure from "Middle Earth" - the name he gave to Birmingham - on a canal barge.
7th Canal History Workshop held on 19th November at the Bargates Church Hall,Whitchurch
The 7th Workshop followed the same formula as its predecessors, with six excellant speakers and a good buffet lunch.
This year, being the 200th anniversary of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the theme was "The Shropshire Union and Welsh Canals". The success and appeal of the Workshop speaks for itself: in the first year the number atteding was about 30, whilst this year it had risen to 50!