Volunteers who were a cut above (From Craven Herald)

Volunteers who were a cut above

3:27pm Saturday 2nd August 2008

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England's canals are busier now than when they were the freight arteries of the Industrial Revolution, according to the latest survey from British Waterways - and what good news this is for the towns and villages on their banks.

Fifty years ago, many of the canals were little more than fetid rubbish dumps, weed-choked virtual sewers filled with old bedsteads, scrap iron and other household junk.

They were a threat to the safety of children and a fertile breeding ground for rats, which can spread serious disease.

I have reported this before - not to every reader's pleasure, I might say - but the fact remains that this wonderful system was rescued from Government neglect by volunteer labourers who gave up their weekends - and often annual holidays - to work literally up to their waists in filthy, stagnant water to repair locks and towpaths.

The long-term result of this volunteer effort has been to immensely improve and save some of the architectural gems which stand by the canals, many of them built in the early 19th century when Britain became the workshop of the world using horse and sail-power to transport our goods round the globe.

Buildings like Victoria Mill, converted into state-of-the-art housing and winner of a National Civic Society gold medal, and Belle Vue Mill, now undergoing conversion next door, are transforming some of our townscapes, saving precious green field sites from despoilation.

There is much talk now of getting the voluntary sector more involved in community work. The canals are a living, breathing testimony to the will of ordinary folk to work their fingers to the bone if they can find a worthwhile task to inspire them. More please!

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