The need for restoration work – May 2024.
This brief paper provides an outline of how the canal at Monkhide has gone from restoration thirty years ago to its current derelict state in urgent need of clearance to restore it to optimum condition for wildlife and navigation. The Trust’s plan is merely to return the canal to the condition it was in just 25 years ago.
The canal at Monkhide was originally restored by the Canal Trust (at that time H&G Canal Society) in 1983-92 with the cooperation of the local owners and a major input from the Waterways Recovery Group. The canal was then fully navigable and boats were based on the section in the 1990s and open days provided opportunities for the public to walk the towpath and enjoy boat trips. Unfortunately, a breakdown in relations between the local canal owners and the then leaders of the Canal Society, led to a cessation of maintenance and navigation later in the 1990s.
Above – Restoration work at Skew Bridge in the 1980s with volunteers from the Waterways Recovery Group.
Right – The same view with the first boat to pass under Skew Bridge for over 100 years in 1992 (Hereford Times photo).
1992 – Unloading a boat and craning it in to the canal from the main road (photo Gordon Lowthian)
Canal in use at Monkhide – 1992 (photo Gordon Lowthian)
Narrowboat “Maria Ballard” leading a flotilla of smaller boats in 1995 approaching Monksbury Court Bridge
This lack of maintenance has led to a serious deterioration in the value of the canal as a listed ‘Local Wildlife Site’ with the loss of much of the clear water habitat which is essential for wildfowl, bat species (particularly Daubenton’s Bats), amphibians and mammals such as Water Vole and Otter. The long row of old pollarded willows subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), on the bank opposite the towpath, which are both a landscape feature and provide important nesting/roosting holes for birds and bats are critically overdue for re-pollarding and some have already collapsed – although the two nearest Crews Pitch Wharf have already been restored by their owners with TPO consent.
The same point with the canal channel now clogged with vegetation (2022)
Skew Bridge pictured in 2006 with the channel towards Crews Pitch still clear at that time.
Crews Pitch Wharf c2010 viewed from the main road, again the canal was still relatively clear at that date.
2024 view of the canal between Crews Pitch and Skew Bridge; now completely clogged with fallen trees.
Work is needed urgently to save these old Pollard Willows and to restore clear water for the benefit of the wildlife species that require open water.
The Trust plans to start tackling the backlog of maintenance in cooperation with the local owners starting with the willow pollards; this work has been discussed with the Herefordshire Council’s Trees Officer and an application for the necessary consent under the Tree Preservation Order is under consideration. If approved, we hope to start work later in the year but not until after the bird nesting season and all work will be subject to continuing environmental checks, in particular for the presence of bats and other wildlife living in and by the canal.
The channel also needs to be cleared of debris to restore clear water – essential for its value as a listed ‘Local Wildlife Site’ with good aquatic habitat essential for the local wildlife. The Trust has limited resources so the initial plan is to work on the stretch of canal between Crews Pitch and Skew Bridge, but we intend to have discussions with the other owners who have been doing their best to care for the canal in the hope that the full length can be restored, in due course, to the good condition it was in just a few years ago!
If you have any thoughts on the above, or would like to help, please Get in Touch.
Richard Appleton, Trustee – May 2024.
