Lichfield council awards over £40,000 to canal improvement project
A decision has been made to award more than £40,000 of housing developer’s money for improvements and repairs to the Coventry Canal. Lichfield District Council are now hoping to get started on the project as quickly as possible.
Now section 106 money which was secured in 2013 for 750 houses at Fradley Park, Halifax Avenue secured three separate financial contributions towards canal improvements along the stretch of Coventry Canal in Fradley.
The money, according to the agreements, can be used for improvements to the canal towpath from New Bridge on Gorse Lane to Fradley Junction.
It is now planned that the canal towpath improvement and works to repair the embankment between Fradley Junction and the New Bridge on Gorse Lane be funded using the money.
Currently the council has £40,248, which forms two instalments, which will all be used on the project.
Due to the time limits the money has expired and is subject to clawback from the developer if it is not spent. Hence the council’s decision to award all the money now to the project while waiting for the third instalment.
The total cost of the work is estimated to be £64,896, which means the two instalments fund 80 per cent of the project. The final instalment is £24,648, however will be subject to a separate decision.
The decision by Councillor Alex Farrell, cabinet member for housing and local plan will be made on or after Friday 16th May 2025 unless called-in for Scrutiny. The decision notice states: “In February 2025, the Canal and River Trust (CRT) were approached about potential projects that would require or benefit from S106 grant funding.
“They informed of works that were required to repair the canal embankment along the stretch of the Coventry Canal near Fradley Junction. It was considered that this project would satisfy the requirements of the Section 106 agreement.
“The total cost of the canal improvement work is estimated to be around £60,000 which would mean that around 80% of the value of the project would be funded by the Section 106 contributions.”
