Attempt to save boatyard

Published: Friday, 30 April 2010
ANOTHER ATTEMPT is underway to save the derelict Taylor's Boatyard on the Chester Canal in the town, following the failed one in 2008.

Work is planned  to repair and carry out basic improvements to the historic boat building yard, with an application for listed building consent being made by British Waterways.

Parts of the yard date from the 1840s, but was known as Taylor's Boatyard since it was bought by Joseph 'Harry' Taylor in the 1920s, with the family owning it until 1972. At one time it employed over 200 people.

The boatyard includes a slipway shed, a smithy, a carpenters' shop, a saw mill and a dry dock.

Improve facilities

British Waterways wants to save the yard, and where possible improve facilities for the future use of the boatyard. The work to be undertaken is understood to be the minimum which is needed to reverse the long term decline in its fabric and to meet modern workplace standards.

The work would be carried out subject to available funding and the needs of  prospective tenants.