Chesterfield Canal Trust ‘confident’ issues with HS2 can be resolved

Chesterfield Canal Trust (CCT) has submitted a planning application to restore the rest of the waterway which falls within Chesterfield borough – a 1.6-mile section from Staveley to the edge of Renishaw.

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As the Derbyshire Times reported in the summer, controversial high-speed rail company HS2 wrote to Chesterfield Borough Council to oppose CCT’s application – saying the two projects are ‘currently incompatible’.

CCT met with HS2 and other interested parties last week to discuss the situation.

A spokesperson for CCT said: “The trust remains confident that outstanding issues with HS2 can be resolved.

“We would like to thank the local community for its overwhelming support.

“Special mention must be made of Lee Rowley MP and Toby Perkins MP, both of whom were on the case before we had even been able to contact them.

“We remain committed to getting the canal fully restored by its 250th anniversary in 2027.”

HS2 believes the water level in the canal would be too high to enable a bridge to be built to allow access to a planned maintenance depot on the old Staveley Works site.

A spokesperson for HS2 said it would ‘continue to work closely with the trust and local planning authorities to identify a mutually agreeable solution’.

Construction work on HS2 officially began last month.

Those involved in the £56billion project say it is expected to create 22,000 jobs in the next few years.

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