Canal future talks (From Stourbridge News)

Canal future talks

3:46pm Monday 5th February 2007 in Local

STOURBRIDGE canal conservation is under the spotlight in a council call for residents' views on the future of waterways.

Parts of the network were designated conservation areas between 1976 and 1982, Dudley council has announced a review to safeguard the sites and keep their character intact.

The council is urging people to have their say on the historic significance and value of these areas.

A public consultation process will focus on Stourbridge Branch canal at Canal Street and Amblecote, Sixteen Locks in Stourbridge and Brierley Hill's Delph Locks.

Cllr Malcolm Knowles, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "The conservation areas were designated over 20 years ago.

"The council is now reviewing those designations to assess whether they retain their special historic interest, to review their boundaries and to develop proposals for their future management.

"The principal effect of designation is that it introduces control over the demolition of buildings.

"It also imposes a statutory duty on the council to have special regard to preserving the character and appearance of the area when considering proposals for change."

The Stourbridge arm of the canal was built by Thomas Dadford Jnr between 1776 and 1779 at a cost of £38,000.

It is around eight miles long and terminates in the town centre at the Bonded Warehouse after rising 164 feet above its Stourton connection through 20 locks.

The name Delph is derived from Black Delve', a reference to early coal mining in the region.

The famous Nine Locks' in Brierley Hill are actually only eight in number after subsidence caused the reconstruction of the flight in 1856.

Council officers will be hosting exhibitions to promote the consultation at Stourbridge Library on Thursday February 14, Wordsley Library on Saturday February 17 and Brierley Hill Library on Monday February 26.