From mike.clarke@zen.co.ukSun Mar 9 14:28:55 1997 Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 17:58:05 GMT From: Mike Clarke Reply to: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society David and myself have decided to try and set up an L&L Society and I am just about to send out this letter which I hope you will find of interest. Sorry for the length! Dear All Despite being one the country's most important canals and passing close to the homes of millions of people, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal remains under-used and under-valued. One reason is that the canal's unique traditions, its long and successful commercial history, and the beautiful and interesting countryside which it passes through, are all little appreciated by many canal enthusiasts, let alone the general public. To help address this problem, it is proposed to set up a Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society. The boating community are already well represented by the many boat clubs along the canal, so the aim of this new Society will be to promote the history and cultural value of the canal. We need to work together with British Waterways, local authorities and canalside developers, as well as existing canal users, to ensure that those features which are unique to the Leeds & Liverpool are preserved and that the design of canalside developments are sympathetic to the canal's history. We cannot hold back the changes brought about by the passage of time, but we can ensure that local traditions are preserved, and even resurrected so that they can be passed on to future generations. The initial meeting of the Society will be held in Wigan on the 9th April, at 7-30 in the Coaching House, Warrington Road (A573). Mike Clarke will give a short illustrated talk which will describe some of the Leeds & Liverpool's unique traditions, and look at some of the canal's historical structures which have disappeared or need conservation. An explanation of some of the ways an L&L Society might be able to secure support and funding for works which go beyond BW's remit will be given by the Revd.David Long, Chairman of the Sankey Canal Restoration Society, who moved to Wigan last year. An open session for your comments will follow, where the future of the canal's heritage and how it can be preserved can be discussed. A second meeting, with a similar format, is being planned in Yorkshire to develop and extend the ideas from this meeting Yours sincerely, David W. Long and Mike Clarke Mike Clarke Milepost Research 41 Fountain St, Accrington, UK, BB5 0QR +44 (0)1254-395848 http://www.zen.co.uk/home/page/mike.clarke/home.htm