The Peak Forest Canal towpath near Marple, 17th Nov 2007
A couple of weeks ago I hadn't even heard of this Peoples 50 Million business. But like an old man at a funeral I now can't stop thinking about it.
I browsed all four of the options on the official website yesterday, and found it hard to understand what any of them were offering. No maps, no clear outlines. Just four embarrassingly vague, waffly 'star' videos. And the associated 'summaries' weren't informative.
Only one official website was halfway interesting, and that was the Black Country Urban Park bid. I'm keen on maps, and only theirs (here) was remotely informative. It's the only one that even slightly explains what their whole project offers beyond warm, fuzzy benefits.
There's a nice canal-oriented video here on the Express & Star site explaining the potential for development around the Wolverhampton canal basin. (The Express & Star is excellent at integrating video into its news reporting)
The Brian Blessed video for Sherwood is an embarrassment that should kill that project's hopes. "I'm not interested in b-b-Brian Blessed! I'm not interested in being a celebrity in some show! Thhhp!" he shouted.
I still haven't a clue what the Eden Project expansion The Edge is offering. It sounds like a New Labour promise: Because we are doing well now, we'll do better in the future, and this is the way we will live to do it.
I suspect Connect2 will win, because in the oldest tradition of democracy, it doesn't offer a grand vision, it promises half a loaf of bread to each voter. Everyone will get a little more towpath and another little cycle bridge near their house.
For about £2 a vote, I suppose that's not a bad promise. Connect2 has no grand design, it's a 'join up the dots' thing. You find your local scheme first, and then they say that the other dots will somehow connect.
Connect2 has 79 'local schemes', with 20 more 'held in reserve in case any of the others are unable to complete'. For example:
In the case of The Peak Forest Canal, the condition of the towpath is so bad and the links into the surrounding communities so poor that it is an excellent example of how a reconstruction together with new links, focussed on the centres of the nearby populations, will bring about a whole new idea of how to travel in the area.
All very vague, and this is one of the 'reserve' ones that won't necessarily go ahead anyway. The Peak Forest Canal needs dredging more than towpath works, but I can't find anything on Connect2 that offers canal maintenance. I don't count a cycle track as canal work.
My photo shows the Peak Forest towpath near Marple a week ago. Your local 'towing path' [(c) IWA] mileage may vary.
No question in my view, all canal boaters (and most towpath users) should plump for the Black Country Urban Park.
