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Petition The sankey Canal, Save our Canal


Chloe

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On the 2nd February I posted a piece of news ( in general boating) stating that The Sankey Canal had low water levels and boaters were concerned about the boats under threat at Spike Island Marina. Now there is petition to save the Sankey Canal by West Bank Angling Club. I just signed the petition:

 

"Support our Canal on Spike Island" Will you join me in supporting this issue?

 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/315/175/396/support-our-canal-on-spike-island/

 

Chloe

Edited by Chloe
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Yes, voted.

Incase anyone gets a bit confused, to give the Sankey Canal it's full title, it would be The Sankey Navigstion or The St Helens Canal. It can and has also been called, The Sankey Brook Navigstion. In any case, and by any name, this canal was the first canal of the industrial revolution and constructed purely for the ease of movement of goods for commercial purposes at the start of The Industrial Revolution.

It's an ironic fact that The Rainhill trials were held on the outskirts of St Helens.

Much is owed to the St Helens area and it's a shame that The St Helens Canal is no longer navigable for its entire length.

Yes, I was brought up and educated in St Helens and we were taught to be proud of the Town and The St Helens Canal and thier contribution to modern Britain.

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The short answer is I don't know!

 

The West Bank Angling Club are running the petition targeting Halton Borough Council. and Darrel Bate Mersey Gateway Contruction Face Book group (which I am part) of put it on, and I got an email to sign!

 

Thought as we are a canal blog site I would put share it!

Edited by Chloe
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Signed.

I also grew up in St. Helens (tough, for a Wigan lad!). I don't remember much mention of it at school. I remember fishing at the hotties, is that part of it?

Yes, The Hotties are in the centre of town. I think we all fished and swam in there at some time.

How much emphasis was placed on the canal at school probably depended on the history teacher I would think and only for "in house" tests and exams.

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The short answer is I don't know!

 

The West Bank Angling Club are running the petition targeting Halton Borough Council. and Darrel Bate Mersey Gateway Contruction Face Book group (which I am part) of put it on, and I got an email to sign!

 

Thought as we are a canal blog site I would put share it!

 

So, based on nothing more than a picture of an empty canal, and with no knowledge whatsoever about what is happening, and who is alleged to be doing what, you signed a petition because you were asked to by a facebook group.

 

I've read the petition, and it simply makes generalised statements, with no detail about what is supposed to be wrong.

 

The fact that so many people are happy to sign petitions that they don't understand is part of the reason why petitions are ignored.

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  • 2 weeks later...

post-14299-0-48359300-1456611261_thumb.png

 

To Mayalid and others who do not understand what or why they are signing this petition! I live on the Manchester Ship Canal opposite Spike Island, and have a clear view of this canal! Recently there was a v. low level of water in the Spike Island Marina causing boats to severely list. The water level in this marina has always been up and down, and some boats in the past have sunk due to a lack of water. The Widnes Sea Lock leaks like a sieve. Many boaters and anglers have complained about this, to all the councils who own this canal; but to no avail. This stretch is under the care of Halton Council.

This particular event was caused by a mock up roadway across the St. Helens and Sankey Canal to carry building material to the new bridge -The Mersey Gateway Bridge - which effectively created a dam. They then installed a pump with a v. small pipe used to pump water into the rest of the canal, and the basin - but it was too small to have any effect. The building contractors denied causing the low water level, and the potential dead fish problem. The canal is normally fed by the power station; but when that closes water will leak like a sieve out of the sea lock - which will only make matters worse. There has been a recent survey of the sea lock and it needs repair. A grant of £32,000 has been given to carry out repair, according to the blog 'The Sankey Canal in 2014 and What the Future Might Hold'.

Darrel Bate decided to set up a petition in the hope of getting the low level of water level sorted; as the contractors were denying that it was caused due to them building a dam across the canal. The dam is still in place. Hopefully we will get 1000 signatures, and Halton Council will hold them to account for any damage caused, and in the long run, due to the problem being highlighted, they will fix the lock gates as the problem will be sorted permanently.

 

 

Edited by Chloe
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With the completion of the Gateway Bridge will the access road be removed?

 

As to the current moorings who has the responsibility to repair the sea lock and the length of water that provides the haven for the boats ?.

 

Ray Shill

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So, based on nothing more than a picture of an empty canal, and with no knowledge whatsoever about what is happening, and who is alleged to be doing what, you signed a petition because you were asked to by a facebook group.

 

I've read the petition, and it simply makes generalised statements, with no detail about what is supposed to be wrong.

 

The fact that so many people are happy to sign petitions that they don't understand is part of the reason why petitions are ignored.

 

 

I completely agree -- what a badly thought-out invitation. The bit that says "Please support our Canal on Spike Island from damaged boats, fish loss and environmental damage" is, as Dave says, very general (and doesn't even make sense). If ever there was a "catch-all" it is "environmental damage". Pollution? Erosion? Water loss? Fly tipping?

 

As far as I can tell, the actual petition is to arrange a meeting of West Bank Angling Club, West Bank Boat Club, Merseylink and Halton Borough Council. Isn't it easier to arrange a meeting by phoning the various parties?

Where does it say anything about "sorting" the low water level?

Edited by Machpoint005
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attachicon.gifSt Helens and Sankey Canal Road block.png

 

To Mayalid and others who do not understand what or why they are signing this petition! I live on the Manchester Ship Canal opposite Spike Island, and have a clear view of this canal! Recently there was a v. low level of water in the Spike Island Marina causing boats to severely list. The water level in this marina has always been up and down, and some boats in the past have sunk due to a lack of water. The Widnes Sea Lock leaks like a sieve. Many boaters and anglers have complained about this, to all the councils who own this canal; but to no avail. This stretch is under the care of Halton Council.

This particular event was caused by a mock up roadway across the St. Helens and Sankey Canal to carry building material to the new bridge -The Mersey Gateway Bridge - which effectively created a dam. They then installed a pump with a v. small pipe used to pump water into the rest of the canal, and the basin - but it was too small to have any effect. The building contractors denied causing the low water level, and the potential dead fish problem. The canal is normally fed by the power station; but when that closes water will leak like a sieve out of the sea lock - which will only make matters worse. There has been a recent survey of the sea lock and it needs repair. A grant of £32,000 has been given to carry out repair, according to the blog 'The Sankey Canal in 2014 and What the Future Might Hold'.

Darrel Bate decided to set up a petition in the hope of getting the low level of water level sorted; as the contractors were denying that it was caused due to them building a dam across the canal. The dam is still in place. Hopefully we will get 1000 signatures, and Halton Council will hold them to account for any damage caused, and in the long run, due to the problem being highlighted, they will fix the lock gates as the problem will be sorted permanently.

 

 

 

Probably better to have a petition that says what it means then.

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On another thread, which I wrote before I knew about the petition. called 'The Sankey Canal v. low water levels' - I posted pics of the original reason for me putting the petition on here. Also, as I didn't know where I should post thread I put the petition in Waterways News and in general boating a bad mistake.

 

On the thread called 'The Sankey Canal v. low water levels' Moomin Papa wrote 'have a "mole" in the Mersey Gateway organisation, and this is what I've learned about this:

Merseylink have built a temporary damn across the canal, as your photos show. They maintain a pump which pumps water around the damn to keep the levels up in the Yacht Haven.

Pumping has been reduced at the request of the council whilst the work on the lock was in progress.

The lock work has now finished, so pumping can start again a full rate, except that there's a shortage of water the other side of the damn to pump. This is blamed on either Fiddlers Ferry reducing flow, or a leaky pound higher up. Nobody seems to know which.

Cheers,

MP.

Edited by Chloe
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Totally agree with your points Matchpoint 005 and Mayalid, it does not really explain what the petition is about. I read on The Mersey Gateway Website that it was a petition set up to resolve the low levels of water that occurred a few weeks back which could have caused damage to fishing stock. Yes, it does say on https://www.facebook.com/westbankanglingclub/ site 'Please support our Canal on Spike Island from damaged boats, fish loss and environmental damage! We are petitioning for a meeting with ourselves (West Bank Angling Club), West Bank Boat Club, Merseylink and Halton Borough Council to resolve this. Help us to achieve 1,000 signatures. Please share!'

Above the petition post, on their site somebody has taken even more pics and comments to show that Halton Council and other relevant bodies are not taking the situation seriously enough and are just throwing money at the problem.

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