Further progress on the Wendover Arm
Further progress on the Wendover Arm
At 11 am on Saturday 11 April volunteers from the Wendover Arm Trust broke through one of the temporary bunds and commenced re-watering of 437 metres (just over one quarter mile) of canal up to Bridge 4A (one of the wooden footbridges erected to allow walkers to cross the canal using the established footpath).
This further restored length has taken about five years to complete and will require about 3.15 million litres of water to bring the level up to nearly 1 metre – still not to navigable depth, but this section will not be connected to the fully completed Phase 1 for a number of years – depending upon funding and available labour. It is estimated that it will take about two weeks to fill this length. It is hoped that wildlife will quickly establish as found with previously restored lengths.
Despite the fact that the Trust was unable to previously announce re-watering to the general public owing to parking and other restraints, a considerable number of interested parties were present having heard of the development by word of mouth. The Trust will be holding a Restoration Open Day on Sunday 7 June when this new restored section will be open to all with guided tours available.
The Trust is now commencing restoration between Bridges 4 and 4A and progress could be speeded up by employing contractors for part of the work if additional funds can be obtained – in this connection a Funding Director is anxiously sought and if any reader of “Wendover News” is interested in this position they would be delighted to hear. Contact may be made via the website.