Project Update – Mar 2021

Fundraising

• Strategic Grants identified and scoping – Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund; Severn Trent Community Fund; OFWAT funding competition; Countryside Stewardship open call.
• Trusts and foundations fundraising is an increasingly challenging area for charities nationwide, however many are opening once again to their general criteria. The larger giving organisations have opened for applications and it will be followed by the smaller funders in due course. All known funders are being written to detail current position, need and future plans.
• Donations continue to increase from CCT Members and Volunteers, with more than £3,000 in CCC donations received in the last week.
• We are in positive discussions with other community groups including finding investment opportunities linked to Environmental community education. If you would like to contribute to our project please get in touch with fundraising@cotwoldcanals.org
• Talks and presentations are going online, if anyone would like to volunteer for the team, please contact mail@cotswoldcanals.org
• With our volunteer teams getting Blunder Lock ready for its restoration, we are looking for individuals to sponsor items such as lock ladders, brick & stone work and news lock gates – would someone like to sponsor these?

Engineering

Ocean Rail Bridge: – Follow further geotechnical investigations of the ground conditions for the foundations of the new bridge, the proposed installation works will no longer take place over the May Day bank holiday weekend.  Preparation work continues with the casting of the new concrete bridge units, the completion of which are due by the end of March.  Work will then be undertaken to close down the site until work recommences later this year.  Final dates for the actual bridge replacement works are still under consideration however all works, including reinstatement of the compound land, will be completed by the end of February 2022.

• The change in the scheduling of the Ocean Rail Bridge has had a knock on effect to other works in the vicinity and a review of the proposed timing of items such as the heritage lock restorations are now being assessed.

• Walk Bridge: – A review of the original feasibility design is underway by Gloucestershire County Council and Atkins and detailed design of the new highway bridge will closely follow on. 

• Some limited, Covid compliant volunteer operations have been able to take place on items such as vegetation clearance which had to be completed before the bird nesting season was upon us.

• Plans are being prepared based on the current Covid “Roadmap out of Lockdown” for further volunteer projects to start up during the summer months.  This, of course, will be subject to any further changes that may arise in Government guidelines.

• Negotiations have taken place with GCC and Tewkesbury Borough Council around the opportunity to work collaboratively which will see the good quality clay material to be excavated for the new canal channel in the Missing Mile being utilised on a new rail bridge at Ashchurch which will allow significant development to be undertaken. 

Activity Plan / Activity Programme

Participation and Inclusion Activities

• Policy review – process of consultation underway with SDC and all project partners 
• Community Consultations 
  • Wallbridge Stakeholder Engagement – process underway to resolve issues of vandalism and disenfranchisement in the Wallbridge area through workshops and youth engagement 
  • Ocean Community Engagement – process outlined to map stakeholders, challenges and opportunities, and associated activities 
• Health and Wellbeing referral mechanisms – systems to link exercise on prescription with CCC project underway, to be finalised with Stroud Didtrict Council’s Health & Wellbeing team. Promotional material in design and test process  
• Inclusion and Diversity development – Black Ark Consultancy report on Activity Plan messaging, with edits incorporated into public version.

Community Enterprise and Local Economic Development Activities

• Trails 
  • Canal Rail Trail 2021 – developing site based activities with various scenarios considered for a safe and positive experience for the community 
  • Walking/ Cycling and AgriFood maps, Stroud to Stonehouse – trials underway by focus groups, feedback being analysed. Map launch expected end of March 
  • GWT’s Wild Towns working with Stonehouse TC – to mitigate duplication and encourage synchronicity  
  • Stroud and Stonehouse TC on AONB Kingfisher Trail 2021, linking sculptures on the 2 high streets to the canal corridor through walks and maps in the autumn 
• Gloucestershire’s Recovery Strategy – representing CCC in supporting visitor economy and as a significant tourism development zone impacting local economic development  

Interpretation Activities

• Float My Boat – exhibition connecting Stroud Stonehouse and Gloucester in development with Stroud Valleys Art Space. Site based exhibition celebrating canal life, with Gloucester Railway Station as potential exhibition space, subject to permissions from GWR 
• Mapping for Change – online community mapping tool almost complete for launch with branded landing page and map layers to be finalised 
• Exhibition 42 – 5 boards in place at Ocean, Bonds Mill, Newtown Lock, Blunder Lock and A38. Information across conservation areas in some, designed and looking great. Bikedrop engaged to check and add material every Thursday 
• Audio posts – artists engaged to utilise artefacts from the Waterways Museum and embed audio tech for site based engagement – interviews with experts complete and in development for Ocean post, website and social media. Sites for five audio posts identified as Occupation Bridge, Ocean, with 3 more to be agreed. 

Formal and Informal Heritage Learning Activities

• Canal and Rivers Trust partnership working 
  • accelerated development for primary school work, learning outside the classroom 
  • Strong link with partnership working lead for all C and RT partnership opps 
• All Formal Learning strands – building a database of planned outcomes to be fulfilled by CCC partnership, to work together on opps available – time bound, levels of learning, timing and domains 

Monitoring and Evaluation 

• M&E workplan activities added to all workplans 
• Review of CCC project outcomes, indicators and evaluation methods across all Activity Plan Delivery Plans 
• Consulted with NHLF mentor regards to developing a best practice M&E framework.

Volunteering Activities

• During February the SDC volunteers remained in lockdown, but a small team assisted the Volunteer Manager with some important tasks:
• 1 more ‘Exhibition 42’ notice board was installed at Blunder Lock
• Heras fencing was erected around Blunder Lock and new / old edge protection fencing erected on the lock side. OnSite has been to survey the Lock and we’re all ready for the installation of two Portadams at either end. It’s hoped that work can begin at Blunder Lock at the start of April.  
• CCT, SVCC & SDC Vols have been given notice to vacate Units 1,7 & 8 at Brimscombe Port by the end of June 2021. As a result of this, a large amount of clearance is necessary, with stored items, materials and equipment either being retained or going for scrap. An urgent search has begun for alternative accommodation.

Other work during February included:

• Further survey work carried out to assess the nature and extent of tree clearance work required for channel construction on the Missing Mile – this tree work needs to be carried out before bird nesting and is scheduled for 31 March
• As a result of water control measures needed by Griffiths at the Ocean Rail Crossing, it has been decided to shift early lock restoration work from Newtown Lock to Blunder Lock – this will continue, despite the delay to the bridge works
• Work still continuing to see if the planned towpath upgrade can accommodate horses, or if there is anything we can do to improve the Bridleway network within the canal corridor

People & Nature

• A Winter bat inspection of the M5 bridge structure was completed with the help of CCT volunteers from Western Depot – big thanks go out to Reg Gregory and the whole Jasper boat team which included Olly Youldon, Nick Carter and Nick Fowler and for all those involved in getting Stuart in the water (a task much easier said than done!). The surveys involved inserting an endoscope into the numerous crevices under the M5 bridge to check for the presence or absence of hibernating bats.
• The Ecological consultancy tendering process for the duration of the delivery stage is now complete and we are currently in the standstill period. An announcement of the successful tenderer is expected in early March.
• Now that the government has announced a road map out of lockdown we hope the able to re-start volunteering parties at Pockett’s Orchard with groups of up to 6 allowed from 29^th March and up to 30 from 17^th May. If you would like to be involved please do contact anna.tarbet@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk so we can get you signed up as a volunteer.
• Given the cold snap we had earlier in February, this month’s wildlife footage includes some moorhens ‘dancing’ on ice, badgers out collecting dried grass and leaves to act as extra insultation for their setts and bunnies cavorting in the snow. A selection of these photos are available on this website with all images uploaded to Mammal Web https://www.mammalweb.org/en/?view=projecthome&option=com_biodiv&project_id=131.
• Talks are underway for the supply of some coir rolls which we are considering installing on the off-side of the new canal channel in the A38, this will soften the hard edge and encourage some marginal vegetation which will make this stretch more attractive for people and easier to cross by a wide range of wildlife.