A quintessentially rural canal, the 33 mile long Grantham traverses three shire counties

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The Trent Link

The Trent Link - Re-opening the Door to the Grantham Canal

A Fatal Blow?
When constructed in the 1790's the Grantham Canal entered the River Trent close to what is now the Lady Bay road bridge. In the 1970s the conversion of the old railway bridge into a new river crossing and associated extensive roadworks destroyed a hundred yards of the canal at this point. The Lings Bar dual carriageway, the estate service road and the outbound A52 low deck road, (all at Gamston) are also major obstructions to navigation. The cost of re-instating the original canal route through West Bridgford has been estimated at £6 to £8 million - and that does not include the costs of disruption!

A Viable Alternative?
In the 1970's the idea of a new cut, connecting the canal near Bassingfield to the Trent via a canalised stream and gravel pits, was advocated - what has now become known as the Polser Brook route.

The Polser Brook route

The major problem lay in the fact that we could not attract traditional restoration funding - this is a new cut, not the reinstatement of an abandoned navigation and new avenues had to be explored.

In 1998 a consortium of British Waterways, Local Authorities and the voluntary sector sponsored a bid for Millennium funding which would, among other things, have created a new link for the Grantham Canal into the River Trent utilising the Polser Brook. The Millennium Commission took the usual attitude of most lottery funding agencies - "it's in the East Midlands - ignore it" and the Grantham Canal lost out.

The brook passes under the A52 with navigable headroom

In January 1999 the committee of the Grantham Navigation Association decided to make the Trent Link the main focus of their efforts for the foreseeable future. It had become increasingly obvious that the reconnection to the Trent was crucial to project credibility and the GNA established a team to help make this happen.

The Way Forward
After the failure of the Millennium Bid it was obvious that private sector involvement was needed to realise the Trent Link. In April 1999 the first meeting took place between British Waterways and Metro Holst Limited. Metro Holst has been formed to work in partnership with British Waterways to undertake projects that realise the commercial potential of waterways assets to the benefit of users of the canal and river system as a whole.

What chance success? Well, Ian White, the British Waterways regional director is a long-term supporter and advocate of the Grantham Canal while Richard Kemp, managing director of Metro Holst has a life-long interest in the canals and is a narrowboat owner. This partnership promises much and the Grantham Navigation Association will actively support their efforts while continuing to advocate the interests of our members.

The Rushcliffe Borough Council Draft Replacement Local Plan published in February 2000 protects a line for the canal and safeguards it against prejudicial development. We acknowledge the recognition given in the plan of the potential value of the Grantham Canal and all credit to the council for their vision and commitment to the concept. We would now like to see Rushcliffe fully support current moves to re-establish the connection as a high priority objective. After all, the Grantham Canal is probably the single most important leisure, employment and recreational opportunity within the borough boundaries.

The Current Situation
Currently two routes for the new connection are being investigated. Besides the western route secured in the Rushcliffe plan a second route is under review. This would meet the Trent just below Holme Lock. Going through an area being currently excavated this line will incur a minimum of road realignment under Adbolton Lane, reduced impact on established wildlife and may have reduced flood defence implications. But there is a small problem of an oil pipeline which runs close to the line needed by the new cut.

Keep you eye on the site - we will report new developments as they arise and update this section regularly.

MULTI-MILLION POUND PLAN TO LINK TRENT WITH GRANTHAM CANAL Evening Post Article