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Chesterfield Canal Trust Chairman Retires

Keith Ayling retired as Chairman of the Chesterfield Canal Trust on Monday 30th March 2009.

Keith had held the job for eighteen years. His period of office saw a small organisation with an apparently impossible dream become a major player in canal restoration. A recent Inland Waterways Advisory Council report said that the Chesterfield Canal was in many ways a model restoration project.

The Chesterfield Canal runs for 46 miles from the River Trent to Chesterfield. When Keith became Chairman of the Chesterfield Canal Society in 1991, only the easternmost 26 miles to Worksop were navigable. He was one of the leaders in the formation of the Chesterfield Canal Partnership which has representatives of all the councils on the canal plus waterways bodies and conservation concerns.

Keith oversaw the transition from Canal Society to Canal Trust Ltd. with its extra responsibilities and professionalism. Within the last ten years, five miles of the canal have been restored in Derbyshire and five miles, including thirty one heritage listed locks, have been restored in Nottinghamshire and Rotherham. Further work is currently underway in both Staveley and Renishaw. Much of the rest of the missing nine miles is in the planning stage.

Keith's final duty as Chairman was to conduct the Trust's Annual General Meeting. He thanked the huge number of members who have given their time working for the project. He said that he would miss the support and friendship that he had received during his long period of office.

David Trickett, Trust Vice-Chairman, and Geraint Coles, Partnership Development Manager, both paid warm tributes to Keith. Both were unequivocal in their belief that his drive and enthusiasm were key factors in the Trust's success. Both doubted that as much progress would have been made without his leadership.

Keith was presented with a framed certificate commemorating his service and a SatNav to guide him on his walking and boating in the future.