Prestigious award for “amazing” canal volunteers

Delighted volunteers have received a special award after donating almost 12,000 hours towards the restoration of a former waterway.

The Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has been presented with the annual Tony Davy Award.

The award – named after the charity’s first chairman – is presented to the branch whose volunteers donated the highest number of hours throughout the previous year. Local supporters provided more than 11,700 hours of work, with an estimated value of £137,000 when applying for ‘matched funding’. This includes not only the physical labour in restoring the canal but also fundraising events, public talks and other important activities. 

Branch chairman Dave Maloney said, “It was an honour to accept the award on behalf of our volunteers, and I would like to thank them for their ongoing dedication and commitment. They’re amazing.

“Every hour of support is sincerely appreciated and takes us another step towards achieving our ambition of a fully restored canal.”

 Last year saw several significant achievements by local volunteers working in partnership with the Trust.

The canal between Chippenham and Lacock was restored from Pewsham Locks to the edge of Reybridge, allowing boats to pass under Double Bridge for the first time in more than a century and creating one of the charity’s longest stretches of navigable waterway.

This was followed by the launch of a new tripboat, the ‘Mary Archard’, which proved to be a popular attraction for visitors.

Volunteers continued to rebuild the flight of locks at Pewsham and cleared more than 800 metres of the former line north of the A4, which also included the laying of a new hedgerow. The charity also purchased six acres of land near Queenfield Farm on the northern edge of Melksham as part of a longer-term project to reopen the towpath to create a safe route for families to walk or cycle to Lacock.

 Dave added, “We hope this latest award will encourage more people to join our campaign to bring this beautiful canal back to life.

“It’s an important part of our industrial heritage but, today, it can also provide a much-needed boost to local tourism, trade and employment.”

 The aim of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is to restore the waterway from the Kennet & Avon Canal near Melksham to the Thames & Severn Canal near Cricklade and the River Thames near Abingdon, connecting Chippenham, Calne, Royal Wootton Bassett and Swindon. Visit www.wbct.org.uk

 Pictured: Canal Trust branch chairman, Dave Maloney, with the Tony Davy Award.