FOLLOWING serious flooding that impacted parts of Warrington over the New Year period, Charlotte Nichols MP met with the Sankey Canal Restoration Society to discuss their ideas for the future of the canal.
It followed on from recent meetings with the Environment Agency and Warrington Borough Council regarding flooding issues.
The Sankey Canal Restoration Society (SCRS) was founded in 1985 to promote the restoration of the canal and advocate that its heritage potential should be maximised. It works with partners to promote, maintain, improve, and restore the canal corridor.
During the meeting, the SCRS proposed that overflow during flooding from the Sankey Brook be diverted into the canal to relieve the flooding impact on Warrington.
The Warrington North MP said: “It was great to meet with the Sankey Canal Restoration Society to discuss the future of the canal. We discussed the history of the Sankey Canal as well as ideas to bring it into modern use for Society does – proposal to use the canal as a flood prevention measure. I have written to the Environment Agency following our meeting to support the SCRS’s vision for the Sankey Canal and its potential flood prevention properties”.
Following the meeting, the Restoration Society met with the Environment Agency to propose the canal be used as a flood prevention measure alongside the Sankey Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme.
The Historic Canal was first opened in 1757 to supply coal from Haydock and Parr to the Cheshire salt industry and the City of Liverpool. It served as a functioning canal until commercial traffic ceased in 1959 leading to its final closure by the British Waterways Board in 1963.
For more information on the Sankey Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme please see the Flood Hub website: https://thefloodhub.co.uk/sankeybrookfrmswarrington/
