Not such an hidden gem

THE Birmingham Post has featured writer James Leyshon who tells that the Birmingham canals are no longer the hidden gem he knew in the past.

He tells that people sleeping rough, syringes, oil slicks and dumped rubbish and the endless graffiti are blighting parts of Birmingham's famous canal network as the city pushes to turn their towpaths into a haven for cyclists.

Darker side of the network

James told that the scenes he saw on a short walk along the towpath from Small Heath bridge, to Aston University showed the darker side of the network that would put anyone off.

There was a a burnt-out building, litter, graffiti, human faeces and drinkers, that are hardly in keeping with Birmingham spending a £17 million Department for Transport Cycle City Ambition Grant which the council has agreed to top up to £24.3 million to make it easier and safer for people to travel by bicycle in the city.

Upgrading towpaths

The money will include spending on upgrading the miles of towpaths, that are hoped to be completed this summer.

James told the Post:

"There were parts underneath bridges and walkways where people had been doing drugs, with needles everywhere, having sex, with condoms everywhere. It's completely disgusting down there. There's construction workers putting down new footpaths, which is great, but I feel like Birmingham City Council will ignore the problems going on down there and just say how they've put down new footpaths."

"Going back only a few years ago the canals were how I always remembered them, with long gravely footpaths, grass growing just fine, geese [swans] all along the canals in and out. People in canal boats always saying hello as you walked past.

"It was just so peaceful and to me back then it was a hidden gem of Birmingham. But when I went down recently it was completely different, there were no boats. Litter covering parts of the canal, and parts where people just dumped stuff from their back gardens.

However, volunteers from Waterway Recovery Group, Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, Dudley Canal Trust and Canal & River Trust last summer dredged some of the city's routes, clearing an estimated 40 tonnes of rubbish, including motorbikes, cycles, shopping trolleys and tyres.