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Big Lottery’s Access to Nature Fund - £124,000 for Rochdale Canal

The Rochdale Canal in Manchester is set to benefit from £124,000 thanks to a grant from Big Lottery’s Access to Nature fund.

The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes.

The Waterways Trust secured the funding on behalf of the Rochdale Canal Partnership for the Canal Connections project, which will help increase the number of people who use and care for the waterway and its wildlife in Newton Heath and Miles Platting.

Canal Connections will enable people living in these areas to learn about the natural environment of the Rochdale Canal. Through this two-year long project, the Rochdale Canal Partnership hopes to increase local knowledge of the biodiversity and wildlife found along the waterway and foster a sense of ownership of the canal amongst the local population.

Becky Liddell, Rochdale Canal Development Manager, explained: “People think that you need to go somewhere wild and remote to discover wildlife, this just isn’t the case. We have an abundance of wildlife right here on our doorstep. Regardless of the time of year, the Rochdale Canal is alive with a wealth of plant life, animals and creatures waiting to be discovered.

The idea for Canal Connections arose from discussions with the local community. Following a consultation programme in 2008, a Canal Community User Group was established to discuss how the waterway could be improved and to encourage more people to take care of the canal and its environment.

Becky continued: “We are using this funding to employ a Canal Community Liaison Officer who will put together a diverse programme of activities and projects to encourage people living in Newton Heath and Miles Platting to visit the waterway, discover more about this fantastic environment and learn how to look after the canal and its wildlife.”

The Waterways Trust is a national charity. Since 1999 the Trust has worked with its partners to enrich people’s lives through waterways. Its vision is to see the UK waterway network supported, valued and enjoyed by everyone. The Trust identifies need, builds partnerships, raises funds and delivers projects focused on delivering benefits for people in five core areas: environment & heritage, improved health, stronger communities, improved learning and regeneration.

Access to Nature us a £25 million grant programme that is part of the Big Lottery Changing Spaces programme.

Natural England is delivering the programme as the lead organisation in a consortium of 11 other organisations involved in the environment and conservation that have helped shape and develop it

The consortium comprises BTCV, BW, Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Greenspace, Groundwork UK, Land Restoration Trust, The National Trust, Natural England, RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust

Through the Access to Nature programme, Natural England aims to create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to have a greater access to our natural environment and bring a lasting change to their awareness and understanding as well as improved links to the natural world, which many of us can take for granted.

The programme will support projects England-wide in urban, rural and coastal communities.

The Rochdale is a Broad canal because its bridges and locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 ft width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.

As originally built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on all the relocated locks, the canal now has only 91 locks. The former locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock (Tuel Lane Lock), which is numbered as 3/4.