Canal project open day tells tale of Wolverhampton site

Community project Urban Moorings CIC spent a day talking to residents and interested parties about ways to transform the site near Lower Horseley Fields in Wolverhampton.

The community-based project aims to provide spaces for both the boating and the local community to make the most of on the piece of land.

Councillor for East Park Anwen Muston has been working with the project for two years and spoke about the open day and what the area had.

She said: "The open day has been part of looking for volunteers to help with projects alongside the canal-side area, such as gardening and cleaning up the canal.

"The project also want to create more moorings on the canal on an area which is historical and has an old ticket office near the site that needs redeveloping.

"There's also an old boat repair area and a slipway which is one of the few original ones left in the country."

Regeneration

Urban Moorings CIC is a group of boaters who are working with the aim of wanting to create mooring sites that boaters actually want, integrating ecology, history, art and volunteering.

Councillor Muston said the project was also about regenerating the canal system in Wolverhampton in the same way it was done in Birmingham and making it an area for cyclists and walkers.

She said: "It's nice to see the work Urban Moorings have been doing here and helping to regenerate Wolverhampton and the local area to look more attractive to visitors.

"They are doing volunteer days down here for people to do gardening and are organising demonstrations of a range of activities people can try.

"In the industrial times, it was about transporting along the canal, but now, it's more about redeveloping and re-purposing them for leisure and making them more usuable."

To find out more about Urban Moorings CIC and to get involved, go to urbanmoorings.co.uk.