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Funding Gives Greater Access To Green Spaces For Birmingham’s Inner City Communities

People living in Birmingham city are set to benefit from almost £230,000 of funding from Access to Nature.

The funding will be used for the Heartlands Canal Linear Park Project which will create a vibrant and dynamic community amenity using the Heartlands canal ring to link the communities of east of Birmingham with the heart of the city.

The linear park is the brainchild of the Birmingham Heartlands Partnership, which is made up of Ackers Adventure, Bournville Village Trust, Birmingham City Council, British Waterways, Enterprising Communities, Groundwork and Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust, and is led by The Waterways Trust.

Kim Chester, Development Manager with The Waterways Trust, explains: “The announcement of the funding from Access to Nature is fantastic news. We can now start working with people living around the Heartlands Canal Ring to create this linear park, which will be a marvelous resource for the whole community.”

Through this project, residents will be empowered to transform their local environment. They have the opportunity to connect with the heritage of their neighbourhood and use the canal to celebrate and showcase their own culture and traditions.

Kim continues: “Local schools and businesses will be encouraged to adopt a stretch of the canal, discover more about its biodiversity and the surrounding natural environment and develop new skills. Guided walks, environmental projects and cycle training will further maximise the potential of this wonderful resource as a means to get fit and develop a healthy lifestyle.”

Councillor Ayoub Khan, Cabinet Member for Local Services and Community Safety, said: "I am delighted that the Access to Nature Funding will enable us to make the canal network accessible to local residents. This is an asset that can benefit the community on a number of levels, improving well-being and bringing people together. We also recognise the implications for wider regeneration with the waterways providing a link to development sites."

Tony Harvey, Head of Regeneration Midlands for British Waterways said: “We are delighted to hear the excellent news about this innovative and exiting project. As part of our plans to move management of the waterways to the charitable sector, local community engagement such as this will play an increasingly important role in safeguarding our waterways for future generations to enjoy. This project will enable those people who live and work in the area to help shape the future of the canals on their doorstep”.

Neil Wyatt, Chief Executive Birmingham Wildlife Trust, said: “Birmingham’s network of canals and rivers provide a vital network for the movement of wildlife, and a wonderful recreational resource for Birmingham. The Heartlands Ring brings this network right to the city centre, and the grant from Access to Nature will help many more people enjoy its benefits.”

Further financial contributions for the project have also come from Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT, British Waterways and Birmingham City Council.

Editor's Note:

We have seen a large copy of a map and can confirm that the Birmingham Heartlands Canal Ring is not a 'canal cruising ring' but a loose kidney shaped circle drawn on the map!

The canals inside the circle drawn on the map are:

Tame Valley Canal above Perry Bar Top Lock to Salford Junction (about 0.5 mile)

Grand Union Canal from Salford Junction to Ackers Trust Basin via Bordesley Junction (about 4.0 miles)

The Digbeth Branch in total including Typhoo Basin (about 1.0 mile)

Birmingham & Fazeley Canal from Farmers Bridge Top Lock at Cambrian Wharf to Bromford Bridge No 2 via Salford Junction (about 4.0 miles)

The Birmingham Heartlands Canal Ring takes in about 10 miles of Birmingham's worst maintained and managed canals, so we applaud this endeavour!

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