86-504: The Lichfield Canal , as it is now known, was historically a part of the Wyrley and Essington Canal , being the section of that canal from Ogley Junction at Brownhills on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to Huddlesford Junction , east of Lichfield , on the Coventry Canal , a length of 7 miles (11.3 km). The branch was abandoned in 1955, along with several other branches of
172-496: A Social Investment Business (SIB) grant of £336,000 which will enable the Trust to buy land on either side of the aqueduct and carry out the necessary work to rebuild the canal to bring the aqueduct into use. In April 2015, Midland Expressway Limited donated £50,000 to Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust to honour an undertaking they made when the M6toll was built. The donation is
258-682: A bill to Parliament to build the link themselves. Almost overnight, the Birmingham company's attitude changed, and an agreement to amalgamate was signed on 9 February 1840, which was ratified by an act of Parliament, the Wyrley and Essington Canal Navigation Act 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. xxiv) obtained in April. Once the Wyrley and Essington Canal became part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, there
344-671: A branch to the Hay Head Limeworks, which became known as the Daw End branch, and a short branch to some coal pits, which is variously known as the Lords Hayes, Lord Hayes or Lord Hay's branch. The Lichfield branch would create a new and shorter route for coal traffic from Tipton bound for the Trent and Mersey Canal , and because this would take traffic away from the Birmingham Canal, passage of
430-403: A clause inserted into the enabling act allowing them to stop boats moving between the two canals if the water level in the Wyrley and Essington was less than 6 inches (15 cm) above the level in the Birmingham Canal. Getting lock gates to seal with such a small drop in level proved difficult, and the gates were locked shut to prevent water passing into the Wyrley and Essington. A second act,
516-477: A month using Direct Debit or credit card , or by cheque . The tags contain a microchip which uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. Physically, the tag resembles a DART-Tag , previously used to pay the tolls on the Dartford Crossing . The two systems do not interoperate. ANPR Systems A new transformational tolling system involving Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology
602-511: A monthly administrative fee of £2.00 is charged if the user wishes to receive a postal statement. Exit/entry at some of the intermediate junctions away from the main toll booths entails a reduced toll, typically £1 less than the full fee. There was a proposal to build a new toll motorway, called the M6 Expressway running from the end of the M6 Toll to Knutsford , where much of the traffic leaves
688-723: A new publicly funded motorway were circulated in 1980. It was originally to be called the A446(M) Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR) and designed to alleviate the increasing congestion on the M6 through Birmingham and the Black Country in England, as well as improving road links to neighbouring parts of Staffordshire and North Warwickshire . This was the busiest section of the M6, carrying up to 180,000 vehicles per day when it
774-559: A number of depots. The ANPR system was Initially launched on 8 April 2021 as a pilot project for business customers, with Maritime, one of the UK’s largest logistics operators, becoming the first vehicles to pay for their journeys on the M6toll via the new tolling system. Once the trials have been completed with Maritime and other commercial vehicle operators, the ANPR system will be rolled out to other road users. Traffic levels are not published on
860-523: A positive balance, sufficient to cover the cost of the vehicle's toll, in order for the vehicle to be allowed through the toll gate. If the balance is sufficient, the tag will beep once and the barrier at the toll gate will automatically raise. If the balance is low (fewer than three journeys remaining), the tag will beep twice. If the balance of the account cannot cover the cost of the toll, the barrier will remain closed and an alternative method of payment must be used. Balances can be topped up automatically once
946-437: A regular basis, but can be found in company financial reports published in press, generally around about September the following year. E.g. https://www.cityam.com/m6-toll-owner-rakes-in-the-profit-after-price-rises/ shows: -2022 46,715 -2024 48,463 The contract to build and operate the M6 Toll was won by Midland Expressway Limited (MEL) in 1991. In 2005 MEL reported an operating profit of around £16 million. Total revenue
SECTION 10
#17328520141711032-536: A result of opencast mining . Coal traffic on the branch from Anglesey Basin continued for a little longer, but finally ceased in 1967. Since the closure of the Ogley Locks section through Lichfield, the basin is the most northerly point on the Birmingham Canal Navigations to which it is possible to travel by boat. After closure, much of the Ogley Locks Branch was sold off, and parts were built over, but many of
1118-549: A second from Hednesford Basin to Littleworth. At the time the act was obtained, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal agreed to build a connecting link from their Hatherton Branch to a junction with the proposed Cannock Extension Canal. Purchase of the land for the link was jointly funded by the two companies, but the construction of the flight of 13 locks was paid for by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Although
1204-635: Is a canal in the English Midlands . As built it ran from Wolverhampton to Huddlesford Junction near Lichfield , with a number of branches: some parts are currently derelict. Pending planned restoration to Huddlesford, the navigable mainline now terminates at Ogley Junction near Brownhills . In 2008 it was designated a Local Nature Reserve . The canal was built to allow transport of coal from coal mines near Wyrley , Essington and New Invention to Wolverhampton and Walsall , but also carried limestone and other goods. An act of Parliament ,
1290-402: Is added, plus further costs will be added if the toll is still unpaid after 14 days. An M6 Toll tag is an electronic toll collection device attached to a vehicle's windscreen, which records the vehicle's passage through toll plazas on the M6 Toll. Each tag can only be used with the registered number plate and has a unique account. All accounts on the M6 Toll are pre-paid, and must contain
1376-505: Is currently being trialed on the M6toll as part of the M6toll’s Road Ahead strategy. The ANPR cameras will identify licence plate data, removing the need for card payments at the toll plazas and replacing them with a remote payment system linked to online accounts. It will enable seamless end to end journeys and mean customers can manage all transactions via the M6toll website, whether for a single vehicle or larger fleets spread across
1462-415: Is derived from the fact that the canal is a contour canal , and so it twists and turns in order to avoid any gradients, and thus the need for locks. Some of the bends have been straightened over the years, following mining subsidence. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED] Media related to Wyrley and Essington Canal at Wikimedia Commons M6 Toll The M6 Toll , referred to on some signs as
1548-421: Is in direct competition with a free motorway running along the same route; this may account for some of the difficulties it has experienced since opening more than a decade ago." The M6 Toll has several intermediary junctions, and some were designed originally to limit access to discourage local traffic. Like modern toll roads in continental Europe, the M6 Toll still uses toll plazas , despite many other tolls in
1634-519: Is no cap on the rates charged. There was a second public inquiry from relating to the new scheme in 1994–1995 and a decision to go ahead in 1997. A legal challenge was made by the "Alliance against BNRR" which was cleared in 1998. Midland Expressway Limited contracted out the construction of the road to a consortium of major contractors Carillion , Alfred McAlpine , Balfour Beatty and Amec (together known as CAMBBA). Build phase Site clearance started in 2000, major construction work began over
1720-531: Is now considered to be on the Coventry Canal . Plans to restore the Lichfield Canal were first raised in 1975, when area planning authorities were required to produce county structure plans. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) encouraged all members to ensure that local waterways were properly noted in the structure plans. Ideas for the restoration were put before the West Midlands planning team. Although
1806-539: Is situated between junctions T6 and T7, and the southbound between junctions T4 and T3. The weekday contactless card cost is £9.70 for a car and £17.20 for a Heavy Goods Vehicle . The M6 Toll is part of the (unsigned in the UK) E-road E05 and is subject to the same regulations and policing as other motorways in the UK. It has one service station along its 27-mile (43 km) stretch, Norton Canes services . Proposals for
SECTION 20
#17328520141711892-508: The Wyrley and Essington Canal Act 1794 ( 34 Geo. 3 . c. 25) received royal assent on 28 March 1794, entitled "An Act for extending the Wyrley and Essington Canal" – this authorised a long extension, from Sneyd (thus making the line from Sneyd to Wyrley Bank effectively a branch) past Lichfield to Huddlesford Junction on the Coventry Canal , together with the raising of up to £115,000 (equivalent to £15.3 million in 2023), to complete construction. The 1794 act also authorised
1978-486: The Birmingham Canal Navigation Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 81) received royal assent on 30 April 1792, entitled "An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from, or from near, Wyrley Bank, in the county of Stafford, to communicate with the Birmingham and Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, at or near the town of Wolverhampton, in the said county; and also certain collateral Cuts therein described from
2064-712: The Midland Expressway (originally named the Birmingham Northern Relief Road or BNRR ), and stylised as M6toll , connects M6 Junction 3a at the Coleshill Interchange to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with 27 miles (43 km) of six-lane motorway. The M6 Toll is the only major toll road in Great Britain, and has two payment plazas, Great Wyrley Toll Plaza for northbound and Weeford Toll Plaza for southbound. The northbound toll plaza
2150-467: The Midlands , it was built as a "narrow" canal, that is, able to take narrowboats approximately 70 by 7 feet (21.3 by 2.1 metres). The canal was lock -free from the Birmingham Canal mainline at Horseley Fields Junction for 16.5 miles (26.6 kilometres), after which there were 30 locks descending to Huddlesford over a further 7 miles (11 kilometres). A number of branches were constructed: The section of
2236-462: The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Little Sandon, which would enable him to stop using the Essington Branch. The bill was opposed by both canals, with the Wyrley and Essington arguing that Vernon had become bankrupt in 1789, and that the management of his collieries had since been entrusted to Hordern, who was the canal company's treasurer. The branch had only ben built on the promise of
2322-613: The 1840s had proved to be a success, and in 1854 the BCN, now under the control of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), obtained an act of Parliament to authorise further works, three of which affected the Wyrley and Essington. The main project was for the construction of the Cannock Extension Canal , a branch between Pelsall and the coal mining area of Hednesford , near Cannock. This included two tramways, one from Norton Springs, and
2408-826: The Borrowcop Locks Canal Park, had been carried out by members of the Restoration Trust, with help from the Waterway Recovery Group during weekend visits to Lichfield. The canal between Lock 25 and 26 was filled with water in April 2011, the first part of the canal to be filled with water since restoration works started. Download coordinates as: 52°39′59″N 1°51′32″W / 52.6665°N 1.8589°W / 52.6665; -1.8589 Wyrley and Essington Canal The Wyrley and Essington Canal , known locally as "the Curly Wyrley ",
2494-518: The Borrowcop Locks Canal Park. Restoration was threatened by the construction of the M6 Toll motorway around the north of Birmingham , which cut across the canal's route. The Inspector heading the enquiry for the Northern Relief Road ruled that the contractor would only be responsible for the footings for a new aqueduct to carry the canal over the motorway, and that the Trust would need to raise
2580-694: The Greenwood Camp. The camp was in the path of the road in order to frustrate and delay the work. Peter Faulding, a confined space rescue specialist from Specialist Group International who removed Swampy the anti-roads protester from the A30 protest and from the Newbury Bypass tunnels, was brought in to safely remove a number of protesters tunnelled deep underground. The tunnels were very complex and on different levels in Moneymore Cottage. Operation Encompass as it
2666-708: The M6 Toll Corridor. and in April 2005 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that there was strong interest in the commercial property market place around the M6 Toll "zone of influence". In May 2005 the Macquarie Infrastructure Group reported that traffic figures were "disappointing". In August 2005 the Highways Agency confirmed in its own "one year" study showing that usage had settled at around 50,000 vehicle per day (lower than
Lichfield Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-491: The M6 for Manchester . It was announced on 20 July 2006 that this proposal had been abandoned due to excessive costs and anticipated construction problems. From 13 May 2024. The M6 Toll is divided into three zones. Tolls depend on the number of zones entered, determined by automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR). Tolls can be paid by credit / debit card payments or in advance via an M6 Toll tag. Cash payments are not accepted. Vehicles are classified electronically at
2838-509: The Marquess of Donegall's pleasure gardens from damage. The Lichfield route through to Huddlesford Junction was opened on 8 May 1797, but the company faced financial difficulties, partly caused by shareholders failing to honour the calls on their shares. In April 1798, the company announced that the Hay Head branch could not be finished, because of the lack of funds, but somehow they managed to fund
2924-413: The Ogley Locks Branch, now formally branded the "Lichfield Canal". All 7 miles (11 km) of the canal are within the jurisdiction of Lichfield District Council. The Trust began working on three main sites, as they became available. The first site was the half mile at Fossway Lane, bounded by locks 18 and 19, which was owned by the council. The second was at Darnford Lane, on either side of lock 29, which
3010-633: The UK switching to electronic toll collection (ETC) or being abolished. The construction of the motorway threatened the restoration of the Lichfield Canal , which cut across the motorway's route. The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust campaigned and raised funds to build an aqueduct to carry the canal over the motorway. The aqueduct has been finished but the canal has yet to reach it, giving it an odd appearance, known to some local residents as "The Climbing Lemming Bridge". In 2014/2015 Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust received
3096-456: The West Midlands, Chris Crean, said that although the £900 million cost of the road had been borne by private companies, the money should have been spent on public transport. In 2017, the House of Commons Library produced a briefing paper on road tolls written by Louise Butcher, which included the M6 Toll. The paper suggested that "The M6 toll road has had mixed success; it is unusual in that it
3182-587: The Wyrley and Essington Canal was built ahead of its time, as it ran through rural countryside, and its full potential was only realised with the opening of the Cannock Chase coalfield, towards the end of the nineteenth century. However, it enabled people in Lichfield to obtain cheap coal, and there was a regular service from Lichfield to Derby and Burton upon Trent , while a service from Wolverhampton to London called at Lichfield three times each week. The canal fueled
3268-614: The Wyrley and Essington came from the Cannock reservoir, and was fed into the canal by a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) feeder. In the early 1860s, the Marquess of Anglesey was opening new coal mines close to the reservoir, and the feeder was widened to make it navigable, to tap into this new market. It became known as the Anglesey Branch. Heavy coal traffic used the Cannock Extension Canal for its entire life, although subsidence caused by
3354-455: The Wyrley and Essington proposing amalgamation. This time, the Birmingham company were not interested, and in 1835 they dismissed the idea of a junction at Walsall. In 1838, the Walsall contingent suggested the Birmingham company could build the link, and the Wyrley and Essington could supply the water. Still the Birmingham company were not interested, and so the Wyrley and Essington decided to submit
3440-697: The Wyrley and Essington to the Anson Branch , just above its junction with the Walsall Canal. It opened in 1843. The third link was the Rushall Canal , which descended through nine locks from the end of the Daw End branch, to join the Tame Valley Canal at Rushall Junction . This canal had been opened in 1844, and the Rushall Canal, which was 2.9 miles (4.7 km) long, opened in 1847. The extensions of
3526-484: The Wyrley and Essington, and much of it was filled in. Restoration plans were first voiced in 1975, and since 1990, the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust have been actively engaged in excavating and rebuilding sections of the canal as they have become available. Major projects have included an isolated aqueduct over the M6 Toll motorway, ready for when the canal reaches it. The Wyrley and Essington Canal
Lichfield Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-414: The bill through Parliament was smoothed out by allowing them to charge a compensation toll of 3 pence (3/240 of a pound ) per ton on coal passing through Wolverhampton which was bound for Fazeley via the new route. Water supply was carefully regulated, to protect the supplies used by millers and other canals, and there was a restriction on the amount that could be discharged into Whittington Brook, to protect
3698-522: The building of Cannock Chase reservoir, Chasewater . Although not prosperous, the Wyrley and Essington Canal Company made enough profit to start paying dividends, which eventually rose to 6 per cent in 1825. The price of coal in Lichfield dropped considerably, due to the benefits of cheap transport. Following an agreement reached on 9 February 1840, the whole canal became part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations from April of that year. Under
3784-539: The canal bed dropping by 21 ft (6.4 m), and although the banks were rebuilt, commercial traffic stopped in 1961. The canal to the north of the A5 road was abandoned three years later. The Churchbridge connection had been abandoned in 1955, as traffic had ceased on the Hatherton Branch in 1949, again following subsidence. The Churchbridge flight of locks and most of the route north of the A5 have since been destroyed, as
3870-480: The canal has yet to reach it, giving it an odd appearance). This had a beneficial side-effect – the Government promised that never again would a new road be built in the path of a waterway restoration scheme, unless an aqueduct or tunnel was provided. A new bridge taking Cappers Lane over the canal near Whittington was opened on 21 April 2006. By August 2010, most of the work on a by-wash for lock 25, adjacent to
3956-543: The closure of the Ogley Locks section of the Wyrley and Essington from Ogley Junction to Huddleford Junction. Several of the branches were also closed at the same time. These were the Sneyd and Wyrley Bank branch, the Lord Hayes branch, and part of the Hay Head branch. The Bentley Canal closed in 1961, removing another link to the network. The Cannock Extension Canal closed soon afterwards. In July 1960, mining subsidence resulted in
4042-410: The coal traffic from Vernon's mines. Disagreement carried on for years, and the canal company proposed to open proceedings against him in 1812 and 1813, to recover money that he still owed them. Attempts to resolve the issues included an agreement to extend the Wyrley branch for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) towards Wyrley Bank, and to construct a railway to his collieries. The new canal was closed by 1829, but
4128-514: The company obtained a second act of Parliament, the Wyrley and Essington Canal Act 1794 ( 34 Geo. 3 . c. 25), which authorised a long extension from Birchills to Brownhills, again on the level, but then descending through 30 locks to reach Huddlesford Junction, on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal near Lichfield . The whole canal was opened on 9 May 1797, although there were problems with inadequate water supply, which were not resolved until 1800, with
4214-546: The costs for the rest of the structure. An appeal was launched for funds, headed by the actor David Suchet , and together with a grant of £250,000 from the Manifold Trust, the £450,000 cost was met, the road contractors built the supporting columns, and on 16 August 2003, a steel trough was craned into position, having been pre-fabricated by Rowecord Engineering , who are based in South Wales. (The aqueduct has been finished but
4300-414: The decision to make lorries pay a premium rate explaining that "Car drivers find lorries intimidating and they frequently hold up traffic on motorways when overtaking each other." The road was partially opened on 9 December 2003 for traffic entering from local junctions, then fully opened on 14 December 2003. On 10 January 2004, five weeks after opening, a short section of the road near Sutton Coldfield
4386-549: The decision to not increase tolls was put down to disappointing traffic levels and led to a reduction in value for the owner. In 2010 MIG was split into two, and the M6 Toll is now managed by Macquarie Atlas Roads. The road was sold to IFM Investors in June 2017. The M6 Toll lacks a proper link with the M54 , which joins the M6 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the northern end of the M6 Toll. Plans are afoot to link them eventually but for
SECTION 50
#17328520141714472-451: The development of collieries and limestone quarries near Bloxwich , and an ironworks at Goscote. The brick making industry flourished at Sneyd, using coal that arrived by canal, with the bricks being used for new housing development at Walsall. Other local industries that made use of the canal included bit-making, lock-smithing and tack-making. The Daw End Branch ran from Catshill Junction to limestone quarries and limeworks at Hay Head . It
4558-421: The idea. In 1822 they considered whether trade could be improved by building links to neighbouring canals. A number of mine owners suggested a link between the two systems at Walsall in 1825, and surveys for links to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and to the Birmingham system were made in 1826 and 1827. There was more pressure for a link at Walsall from a group of industrialists in 1829, which resulted in
4644-430: The ingredients for Brindley's British Cement. The canal to Essington also suffered from mixed fortunes. The water supply was never really adequate for the number of locks, and in 1798 Henry Vernon, who owned most of the collieries and who had for a time been chairman of the canal company, was paid to pump water from his mines into the canal. He then laid a bill before Parliament for a railway, to run from his collieries to
4730-515: The level from Sneyd Junction to Birchills, near Walsall. There was some animosity with the Birmingham Canal, since the committee passed a resolution to ensure that no person who was a committee member for that canal could become part of the committee. This was rescinded after six months, to reduce tensions. The level section to Sneyd Junction opened in November 1794, but there were issues with the connecting stop lock. The Birmingham Canal had managed to get
4816-499: The locks were simply filled in, with the basic structures still intact. Legislation passed in 1975 meant that area planning authorities had to prepare county structure plans. The Inland Waterways Association Midlands Branch and the BCN Society submitted plans to restore the Ogley Locks Branch to the West Midlands planning team, but the scheme was not deemed to be viable at the time. The Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust
4902-422: The mining was a regular problem. In an effort to combat the effects of a section of canal sinking, the BCN erected a number of safety gates. Those at Northwood consisted of two sets of mitred gates beneath a bridge, one facing each way, so that if the canal breached, the movement of water would cause one set of gates to close, depending on which side of the bridge the breach occurred. In common with other canals in
4988-439: The original mainline from Sneyd to Wyrley Bank, later considered a branch, was opened in 1798, some 2.2 miles (3.5 km) long with five locks; this was extended towards Great Wyrley in 1799, but the extension was disused by 1829. It was reopened and extended to reach Great Wyrley and serve the mines there in 1857. When completed it was 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long, with major wharfs at Broad Lane, Landywood and Wyrley. This branch
5074-475: The pounds. Water was obtained by draining Norton Bog near Chase Water, but the company faced additional difficulties in 1799 when the dam of the Norton Pool Chasewater reservoir failed, causing considerable damage as the water surged through Shenstone , Hopwas and Drayton. Matters were finally resolved when the repairs to the reservoir at Cannock Chase was completed, around 1800. In one sense,
5160-697: The powers of the Transport Act 1947 . All such waterways were initially managed by the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, which was replaced by a board, answerable to the British Transport Commission in 1953. At that time, the only concern was commercial profitability, with no thought being given to leisure use of the canal network. An act of Parliament, the British Transport Commission Act 1954 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2 . c. lv) brought about
5246-464: The predicted 74,000) but that traffic volumes on the M6 had reduced slightly. From 2008, traffic levels started to fall. Traffic in the first quarter of 2009 was 39,000 vehicles-per-day (Monday-Friday figures), but recovered to reach 54,000 in the second quarter of 2015. Daytime cash / contactless card prices for various vehicle classes since opening: There is a 5% discount for using a tag. Leasing of one tag currently costs £1.00/month. In addition,
SECTION 60
#17328520141715332-530: The reinstated Hatherton Canal in a feasibility study carried out by W S Atkins. Previously a route to reconnect the Hatherton Canal to Grove Basin on the Cannock Extension Canal had been favoured, but met with opposition from landowners and on environmental grounds, whereas the Lord Hayes route satisfies the environmental concerns, is preferable to landowners, and would reduce the number of new road bridges needed. The affectionate, rhyming, name "Curly Wyrley"
5418-621: The rest of the work, which was completed by April 1799. They borrowed £1,000 in May 1801, to enable work on the Hay Head branch to resume, but it was still not finished one year later. In July 1800, the accounts showed that there were £3,120 of arrears due to shareholders failing to pay calls. However, they issued their first dividend of £2 per share in November, which resulted in most of the arrears being paid up subsequently. There were also problems with water supply, in part caused by leakage into mines, which resulted in there being insufficient water in some of
5504-407: The road as an early form of public private partnership with the operator paying for the construction and recouping its costs by setting and collecting tolls, allowing for a 3-year construction period followed by 50 years of operation. At the end of this period the infrastructure would be returned to the Government. Toll rates are set at the discretion of the operator at six-monthly intervals and there
5590-497: The said intended Canal" . The act authorised the construction of a canal from the Birmingham Canal near Wolverhampton to Wyrley Bank, and the raising of up to £45,000 to pay for construction, £25,000 from the issuing of shares and another £20,000 in loans. The appointed engineer was William Pitt, who might have been the Staffordshire historian, but the minute books of the committee have not survived, so there are no details of how
5676-456: The scheme was deemed to be unviable, interest in restoration continued, and the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (LHCRT) was formed to promote the restoration of the Lichfield Canal and the Hatherton Canal . Lichfield District Council allowed the Trust to start work on a half-mile (0.8 km) section near Fosseway Lane in 1990. In 1993, the Trust published detailed plans for
5762-477: The summer of 2002 and the road opened in December 2003. 2.5 million books, including many Mills & Boon novels, were pulped and mixed into the tarmac surface to help absorb water. In August 2003, freight operators indicated that they planned to keep their vehicles on the heavily congested M6 through Birmingham rather than send them on the new motorway due to high fees. The AA Motoring Trust said it welcomed
5848-437: The terms of an act of Parliament authorising abandonment obtained in 1954, most of the branches of the original Wyrley and Essington Canal were closed, including the branch from Ogley to Huddlesford, which was abandoned in 1955. Much of the bed was subsequently filled in, although a short section at Huddlesford Junction remains in use as moorings. The branch has subsequently been named the Lichfield Canal, while Huddlesford Junction
5934-462: The time being traffic between the two has to use either the slow and often congested A460 to M54 J1, or go from M54 J2 via the A449 and A5 to M6 J12 – an extra 4 miles/7 km. Environmental campaigners opposed the road, from its inception. While the road was being built, some advocates of direct action dug tunnels under Moneymore Cottage and two large underground bunkers in an adjacent wood named
6020-425: The toll booths according to their number of wheels, number of axles and height at first axle. Thus vehicles with trailers are charged extra and some large models of 4x4 are classified as vans. Failure to pay the toll for using the motorway is a civil offence; anyone attempting to do so will be issued with an unpaid toll notice and required to send payment. If it is not paid within two days a £10 administration charge
6106-463: The work progressed, or of Mr Pitt. The Birmingham Canal Company was renamed the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) in 1794. The canal was level from the Birmingham Canal to Sneyd Junction, a distance of 6.4 miles (10.3 km). The main line then ascended through five locks to reach the collieries at Wyrley Bank, with a further four locks to reach the Essington colliery. A second branch continued on
6192-508: The work was completed by 1860, they were not used until the opening of the Cannock branch to Hednesford basin in 1863. The 1854 act also authorised an extension of the Lord Hay's branch towards Cannock Chase, and another extension of the line along Wyrley Bank, which was completed in 1857. Between them, the Cannock Extension Canal and the Wyrley Bank extension cost over £100,000. Water supply for
6278-449: The years it has suffered from mining subsidence, with the result that many of the embankments are now much taller than when they were constructed. The British Transport Commission Act 1954 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2 . c. lv) allowed the final section to the limeworks to be abandoned. Surrounded now by Hay Head Woods, it is still partially watered, and the area has been declared a Site of Important Nature Conservation (SINC). The Lord Hayes Branch
6364-496: Was 0.9 miles (1.4 km) long with no locks; this branch was built under the 1794 act and abandoned under the British Transport Commission Act 1954. There were three short branches at Gilpins, Slough and Sandhills, all of which are now abandoned. In common with most British canals on which there was still reasonable amounts of traffic, the Birmingham Canal Navigations were nationalised on 1 January 1948, under
6450-459: Was a rush of activity to connect the two systems together. The Walsall Junction Canal was the first to be built, consisting of a short section from Birchills Junction and a flight of eight locks descending to the Walsall Canal . It was 0.6 miles (0.97 km) long and opened in 1841. The Bentley Canal was 3.4 miles (5.5 km) long, and descended through ten locks from Wednesfield Junction on
6536-422: Was abandoned in 1955, under the powers of the act of abandonment. The Birchills Branch was opened in 1798, 2.1 miles (3.4 km) long. In 1840 a link to the Walsall Canal was created by a flight of 8 locks at the southern end of the branch. The Daw End Branch from Catshill Junction to limestone quarries and limeworks at Hay Head was also opened in 1800, some 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometres) long with no locks. Over
6622-433: Was around 5.4 miles (8.7 km) long with no locks, and opened in 1800. Prior to its opening, the limestone quarries had been described as "inexhaustible as quantity, and of a very superior quality" in 1795. By 1809, they were disused, and the construction of a railway to serve them had been abandoned. Boats only travelled as far as Daw End wharf at that time, but by 1822 they had reopened, as they were advertised as supplying
6708-404: Was bought by the council in 1995, using a Derelict Land Grant. The third was at Tamworth Road, covering locks 24 to 26. The upper two have been largely restored, while lock 24 was excavated to assess its condition, but was filled in again to conserve it, pending a decision on how the canal will cross Cricket Lane, immediately upstream from the lock. This whole area has been landscaped, and designated
6794-564: Was built under an act of Parliament, the Birmingham Canal Navigation Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 81), passed on 30 April 1792, for a canal which would run from Horseley Junction near Wolverhampton to Sneyd Junction, near Bloxwich . The main line would be level, following the 473-foot (144 m) contour. From this junction, a branch would run to Wyrley Bank and on to Essington, which would include nine locks, and another level branch would run to Birchills, near Walsall . In 1794,
6880-606: Was called by the police was run by the Under sheriff of Staffordshire Mr John James, the eviction operation ran for fourteen days enabling construction to begin. Friends of the Earth claimed that the road would not relieve much traffic from the West Midlands conurbation as most users using the M6 in that area began or ended their journeys within the conurbation and so the M6 Toll would offer no advantage to them. Their campaign co-ordinator for
6966-422: Was designed to carry only 72,000. Five alternative routes were put for consultation in 1980 and a preferred route was published in 1986. In 1989 there was a public inquiry relating to a publicly funded motorway. In 1989 it was announced that it would be built privately and a competition took place which was won by Midland Expressway Limited in 1991. The contract was for a 53-year concession to build and operate
7052-410: Was formed in 1989, and in 1993 published detailed proposals for the restoration of the branch, which they rebranded as the Lichfield Canal . In 2009 the engineering consultants W S Atkins produced a feasibility study for the restoration, and the Trust have made steady progress in restoring the canal. Part of the Lord Hayes branch could be restored, as it has been identified as a suitable terminus for
7138-425: Was later reopened and extended. The Essington Branch, which was only 0.75 miles (1.2 km) long, rose to a height of 530 feet (160 m) above ordnance datum . It was the highest point on the Wyrley and Essington, but the branch was the first part of the canal to close, in the 1830s. The idea of amalgamation was first raised by the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1820, but the Wyrley and Essington had rejected
7224-485: Was reduced to one lane to allow for repairs to an uneven surface. On 23 July 2004 prices for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) were reduced from £10 to £6 to encourage them to use the route "for a trial period". In December 2004, one year after opening, Friends of the Earth issued a press release expressing concern that faced with lower than expected traffic numbers, Midland Expressway were trying to attract new traffic-generating developments to greenbelt and greenfield sites in
7310-520: Was £45 million, with staff and other operating costs amounting to £11.4 million and depreciation of £17.4 million. Taking into account net interest costs of around £43 million, that leaves an overall loss of £26.5 million in 2005 – their first full financial year. As of June 2005, MEL was 100% owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) of Australia, which operated several tolled roads in Australia and North America. Long term debt
7396-470: Was £819 million as of 30 June 2005. Disappointing traffic figures for 2005 led to a price rise in June, and MIG Chief Executive Steve Allen commented in the Australian newspaper The Age , "What we need is to slow down the M6". Business leaders in Staffordshire , now effectively closer to London, welcomed the opening of the road, saying that it would make it easier to do business there. In June 2006
#170829