HUDDERSFIELD CANAL SOCIETY LTD – NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2024 – 6.30PM 7th NOVEMBER 2024 at STANDEDGE VISITOR CENTRE
This year our AGM is being held in the second floor meeting room at the North of England Centre for Music and Arts, Standedge Visitor Centre, Waters Road, Marsden, HD7 6NQ starting promptly at 6.30pm. All members are welcome. Parking is available on site with the site compound.
The Notice including agenda is here: 2024 AGM Notice
A Proxy form for those who are unable to attend is here: 2024 AGM proxy form
BOATS TRIPS IN MARSDEN AND UPPERMILL
We now run trips in both places for much of the year. Each boat carries up to 12 passengers and is operated by trained unpaid volunteers. No fares, we just ask for a donation with cash into our red bucket or one tap of your contactless card, Apple Pay or Google Pay on our card reader. You can also donate online. We are a registered charity relying 100% on donations to keep the boats running, so please be as generous as you can.
MARSDEN SHUTTLE BOAT TRIPS
We run a regular shuttle service between the lock by Marsden Station and the Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre. The trip lasts 12 to 15 minutes each way. No timetable, but we leave Marsden Station (Lock 42) or the Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre around every 30 minutes.
We plan to run every day during local school half terms & holidays and every weekend between Easter and the end of October. (We are closed during the winter holiday.) Please click here to make sure the boat is running and see where the trip starts in Marsden.
On this route we use our new all electric craft built in 2022. It is quiet & spacious and incorporates a wheelchair lift to aid accessibility.
UPPERMILL TRIPS IN OUR LITTLE BLUE BOAT
We now run round trips from outside the Saddleworth Museum & Gallery going up the canal past the park & turning just before the first lock. The trip lasts around 15 minutes so there is never long to wait for the next one.
We plan to run every weekend up to the end of October. If we manage to recruit & train sufficient local crew, we will run the boat on more days.
Please click here to see where the trip starts.
This is a new venture which relies on volunteers so, if anyone local to Uppermill would like to volunteer to help us run the boat, please contact Mike by email on boating@huddersfieldcanal.org.uk. No previous boating experience is required as we will provide all necessary training.
Dr Bob Gough 14th Feb 1956 to 4th July 2024
It is with great sadness we report the death of our friend and colleague, Bob Gough.
Over the 33 or so years he was employed by the Huddersfield Canal Society and its subsiduaries, Bob became the public face of the Society. Working from the office in Mossley Road, Ashton-under-Lyne and later the Transhipment Warehouse, Dobcross, he was the ever willing and knowledgeable representative of Huddersfield Canal Society.
He wrote his own story in our final printed Pennine Link no. 212, the last before his retirement in February 2022 at the link here. pl212.pdf (huddersfieldcanal.com)
After his well-earned break from paid employment he continued to help the Society in a voluntary capacity whenever publishing tasks arose. No longer can we ‘just ask Bob’ if we need to know anything about the Society, Narrow Canal and their histories.
Relatives and friends joined together at Chadderton Crematorium on 24th July to celebrate Bob’s life and considerable achievements. We wish his widow, Lyubimka and her family well as they come to terms with Bob’s sudden passing.
Alan Stopher, Chair, Huddersfield Canal Society
Autumn 2024 update on Huddersfield Canals
The summer season has been unfortunately dominated by the worsening leak at Golcar Aqueduct. Despite efforts to make temporary fixes using plastic sheets, Canal & River Trust had no choice but to close the Narrow Canal from lock 16E at Golcar to lock 1E at Huddersfield on 31st July 2024 to effect a more reliable repair. It appears that the grouting work has been fairly successful and the canal is now operational once more. There will continue to be a requirement to book passage through 1E.
There is still a towpath closure in place between Lock 4E at Longroyd Bridge and Stoney Battery. Though CRT has made some progress on accessing the unstable area beside the Longroyd Railway Viaduct negotiations need to take place with Network Rail before work can commence. Sadly it is unlikely to mean reopening of this important section of towpath until November 2024. This closure has no impact on boat movements.
After the fantastic public reception on 2nd May 2022, the new electric Marsden e-Shuttle has been running regular trips between Marsden Station and the Standedge Visitor Centre.
Recently our boat took a musical sheep through Slaithwaite then up to Standedge as part of the Project HERD – Kirklees Year of Music 2023.
We’re retaining the original craft, now nicknamed the d-Shuttle, for the time being and indeed it was at the Stalybridge Festival in June and we are now running weekend trips in Uppermill until the end of July (assuming we get sufficient volunteers to crew the boat.
Please check our online trip calendar for dates when the boats are running.
In addition:
• The Maintenance team is continuing to work on east side vegetation clearance every Friday fortnight. Various tasks have been undertaken including installation of missing milestones in 5 locations, vegetation cutting back, wall and fencing repairs and painting of lock gates and spindles.
• The office is now unattended so the best way to contact us is by email.
** Best wishes to all our members, supporters and friends **
The results of our 41st Quarterly Draw are:
£72.00 1st Prize to Andrew Shepherd
£36.00 2nd Prize to Heather Harden
Congratulations to the prize winners!
(If you want to join in – details are in the Members’ Area.)
The Huddersfield Canal Society was formed in 1974 by a group of enthusiasts with the ambitious aim of restoring the then derelict Huddersfield Narrow Canal to through navigation and improving the Broad Canal.
After 27 years of campaigning and restoration, led by Canal Society volunteers, the Narrow Canal was re-opened in May 2001 and gained Royal approval with an official ceremony by HRH Prince of Wales in the September that year.
Funding for removal of the final set of major blockages, amounting to £30 million, was received from the Millennium Lottery Fund and English Partnerships, with contributions from the Society, Tameside, Oldham and Kirklees Councils and the former British Waterways. Click here to download Keith Gibson’s historical summary of the restoration and follow this link to see how the major blockages were removed.
Transhipment Warehouse, Wool Road, Dobcross, Oldham, OL3 5QR
The Society’s members and volunteers help protect and promote the canals so the years of hard work and investment can continued to be enjoyed by all.
