Canal Society gets a boat from Tesco

ONE of the problems for the volunteers working to restore the Buckingham Canal, was getting around the canal that is in water, which has been solved by Tesco.

Tesco has given the society a brand new Aquaparx 330 inflatable motorboat complete with an outboard motor that can accommodate four people or, as Executive Officer and Trustee, Terry Cavender, puts it:

"Two people and a big pile of stuff that we drag out of the canal, such as vegetation.”

'Bags of Help'

The society had successfully applied for funding from Tesco through its ‘Bags of Help’ campaign that allowed the society to purchase the boat, alongside additional equipment such as a trimmer to clear overgrowth by the canalside. The 'Bags of Help' came from the scheme that means large stores must make a 5p charge for its bags to cut down on the amount of plastic spread around—and in canals!  With Terry adding:

"It gives us waterside access to where we’ve been working so we can actually get in there and maintain what we've been restoring.

“It's been something we've been after for a couple years and we're very grateful for Tesco’s assistance.”

Next major obstacle

The next major obstacle for the restoration of the canal is rebuilding a bridge in Cosgrove, with a bid in for £48,000 which would allow the society to open that section of the waterway and actually get boats on to the section.