Towpath improvement assessed

Friday morning saw a visit to the Overwater Marina by DEFRA-appointed consultant Andrew Docherty to assess how well a local project of three years ago has been received by users.

In 2011, the Audlem Parish Plan Community Projects team put in successful bids for £38,000 of EU money and £11,000 of matched local funding.

This resulted in 600 meters of towpath from near the Weaver Aqueduct northwards to Bridge 80 receiving a new hard-core surface and touch-screen computers packed with tourist information being installed at Audlem Mill and Overwater Marina.

The towpath had previously been impassable as water ran off the fields turning it into a quagmire and making pedestrian access to the marina a near impossibility.

A subsequent bid by the same team obtained money to fit out Audlem Lass which has now completed four seasons of plying the canal between Lock 15 and the marina.

A group of local residents and boaters met Andrew Docherty and hospitality was provided by the marina. Local businesses – Peter Silvester of the Mill Shop and Janet Maughan of the marina – were present; Rod Cottrell of Audlem Lass; two representatives from the Community Projects team; and five boat users who regularly walk into the village from the marina along the towpath.

Andrew Docherty was clearly surprised by the speed with which both the towpath and the computer screen elements of the project had been completed – both within a couple of months of the funding being confirmed rather than the couple of years he had expected.

It transpired that usage of the canal towpath had increased sharply, although it appears there can still be some problems in winter or after very wet weather on the uneven grassy stretch of the towpath over the aqueduct. This will be discussed on Tuesday when the Community Projects team meet to plan work for the 2015 Parish Plan.

The touchscreen computers have worked well since installation, although one screen had to be replaced earlier this year.

Rodney Cottrell reported on Audlem Lass's passenger figures since Spring 2011 and estimated that about one third of passengers walked one way between the village and the marina using the towpath.

A report will now be drawn up based on what Andrew Docherty heard and saw and, hopefully, this will be a positive assessment of how the funds have been used. He certainly seemed to have been impressed with the wide range of work carried out by volunteer groups in Audlem.

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