Hope for Middleport Arm?

VOLUNTEERS at a canal tidy over the week-end discovered the old arm off the Trent & Mersey Canal at Middleport, and there is talk of opening it up once again.

It was a group of people in their 20's that spent time clearing out the old arm as part of a training scheme, and members of the Burslem Port Project have been developing plans for the arm to be reopened.

Training Project Director Daniel Canavan stated:

"The area is that overgrown and covered with weeds at the moment that nothing can go on down there until clearance work has taken place. What we are looking to do is give an intensive hit over the first two weeks and then have two teams based down there for another three months."

The project has been supported by Renew North Staffordshire, which has provided £46,800 for work in the canal arm area.

Roger Savage, Chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the Inland Waterways Association, exclaimed:

"I am glad that Renew has responded positively by incorporating the canal arm into their plans. By demonstrating their faith through funding this initial stage it will open the way for future volunteers to be involved."