Photos show Chesterfield Canal’s Trans Pennine Trail bridge lowered into place as 'huge milestone' in £6 million restoration scheme

The 38-metre long, 40-ton structure was installed on Monday (October 21) and is the first phase of a £6 million canal restoration scheme.

Next year a length of canal will be reinstated under the bridge along with a new lock and another accommodation bridge at the bottom of Bellhouse Lane.

There will also be a pumping system and Bellhouse Basin will be restored and the towpath will be upgraded to a multi-user trail, stretching over two kilometres all the way across the Doe Lea Valley to Renishaw.

The new bridge will allow trail users to continue along without having to navigate a laborious zig-zag route as before.

Now the structure is in place the rest of the earthworks and finishing works will be completed, ready for the bridge to be opened to the public before the end of October.

Rod Auton, publicity officer for Chesterfield Canal Trust, said: “This is an incredibly important achievement for the Trust. It proves to our supporters and to potential funders that we can take on huge engineering challenges and bring them to fruition.”

The structure is 38 metres long and weighs about 40 tons.

The project has been managed by the Chesterfield Canal Trust. It is the first phase of a £6 million canal restoration scheme. Most of the money will come from the Staveley Town Deal, a £25.2 million investment in Staveley through the Government’s Towns Fund, covering ten projects in all.

The rest of the earthworks and finishing works will now be completed ready for the bridge to be opened to the public before the end of October.

O’Brien Contractors Director, Tony Mitchell said, “The installation of the bridge marks the continuing works towards the reinstatement of the Chesterfield Canal and O’Brien Contractors are proud that we have been able to contribute to this.”

Ivan Fomin, Chair of the Staveley Town Deal, said: “This is not only a huge milestone for the Chesterfield Canal Trust but also for the Staveley Town Deal. Work to restore the Canal is one of our key projects and will help attract more visitors and improve outdoor facilities for residents. There has a been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I want to thank all the staff and volunteers at the Trust for their efforts.”

Next year, a length of canal will be reinstated under the bridge along with a new lock and another accommodation bridge at the bottom of Bellhouse Lane. There will also be a pumping system and Bellhouse Basin will be restored. The towpath will be upgraded to a multi-user trail, stretching over two kilometres all the way across the Doe Lea Valley to Renishaw.

Finally, the whole area will be planted with wildlife friendly vegetation and a seating area will be installed for people to enjoy the tranquillity of the newly restored canal.

Mr Auton added: “We owe a great debt of thanks to our Development Manager, George Rogers, who has been working on the whole project for four years, and to Jon Lindley of Beyond consultants who has managed the bridge project with O’Brien’s.”