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Lichfield Canal

The Lichfield Canal, Lichfield

From Ogley Junction on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations, the Lichfield Canal runs for seven miles to Huddlesford Junction on the Coventry Canal. Currently derelict, it is being rebuilt with an impressive aqueduct over the M6 Toll motorway.

The Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust is co-ordinating group for restoration of the eponymous canals, both of which link the under-used northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to popular countryside waterways. The campaign has gained high profile support including that of David Suchet, who plays Inspector Hercule Poirot on TV.

Restoration of the Lichfield Canal was threatened by the construction of the M6 Toll motorway around the north of Birmingham, which threatened to bulldoze the canal's route - making restoration a prohibitively expensive business. Fortunately, a long-running campaign by canal supporters, including Mr Suchet, has succeeded in raising the funds for a dramatic aqueduct to carry the canal over the motorway. And there has been a beneficial side-effect - the Government has promised that never again will a new road be built in the path of a waterway restoration scheme, unless a bridge or tunnel is provided.