See how one canal is being transformed as dozens of weeds are dug up
It’s a weeding job of giant proportions. A stretch of Black Country canal has been spruced up after being cleared of reeds and overgrown plants.
The work was undertaken on the Titford Feeder in Oldbury to unblock the vegetation on the banks.
A team of three from The Rothen Group undertook the work across the space of a week.
Ian Rothen, from the team, said: “It was on the Western End of Titford Canal that we cleaned out.
“It is part of the feeder that goes into the end of the canal that was in a state.
“It became choked with weeds and vegetation on the bank, so we had to carry out quite a bit of work there.
“We have done a lot of work with the waterways people so they asked if we could clean it out. We have specialist teams who can do that with different types of equipment.
“It seems that when there is sunny weather and heat, it encourages the growth of weeds and then it can become quite difficult quite quickly.”
Pictures that were posted on The Rothan Group Twitter page show the transformation of the spot.
Reeds that were over a metre high made the feeder barely visible.
Afterwards, a clear shot of the area can be seen with weeds cut back and water steadily moving through.
The Titford Canal is a narrow, short branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
Between Titford Pool and the locks stand the distinctive Langley Forge and Grade-II listed Langley Maltings. At the top lock stands the listed Titford Engine House. The clear-up comes as earlier on this year, council bosses in Sandwell vowed to spend more than £1 million to upgrade a three-mile stretch of the Birmingham Canal.
The canal towpath between Smethwick Galton Bridge, Sandwell and Dudley, and Dudley Port rail stations is set for a £1.2m revamp, which bosses claim will lead to health benefits. A council report said the cash would come from a West Midlands Combined Authority fund to improve cycle routes in the Midlands.
To mitigate the health impacts of inactivity in the West Midlands, the programme aims to build a network of safe routes. The strategy aims to provide a working partnership with local authorities and Transport for West Midlands to create an extensive, safe and coherent off and on-road links connecting key destinations irrespective of administration boundaries to promote walking, cycling and running.
Councillor David Hosell said: “Any improvements that we can make to the canals – either appearance, safety or other things – are to be welcomed.”
