Canal through the town centre

[Samdy Gray]

I suppose most people will be aware of this. The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust are planning to restore the old North Wilts Canal so that it'll join the Thames and the Kennett & Avon Canal.

It's estimated to cost around £50 million to complete the work and would involve digging up roads from the bottom of Kings Hill, down Westcott Place and Faringdon Road and up through Canal Walk in the town centre.

At the moment I'm indifferent about the idea. If it's done it could be a good thing for Swindon and become a real 'feature' of the town but on the other hand it could become dirty, smelly and horrible and be a complete waste of money.

[Bogus Dave]

if you could fish it then i'm all for it

[janaage]

I like the idea, let's give Swindon a bit of character, maybe they could route the canal through the old mechanics institute, kill two birds and all that.

Seriously though, although the money could be better spent elsewhere I do kind of hope this idea is seriously looked into.

[Barry Scott]

I think it's a great idea. In a Lord Bath kind of way.

[Samdy Gray]

It just doesn't look right to me, its mad:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/images/2006/03/10/swindon_canal_b_203_203x152.jpg

[STFC_Gazzza]

Think of the amount of people that will drown coming back from Town. It will cause traffic chaos to an already dire situation. It would cut off several of the main arteries to get into the Town Centre and there is no where to re-route the traffic although an arguement can be made to send it down the back of Faringdon Park instead of the front. If a canncel is done, The canal if done should go where it used to down the back of the Graps hotel / Greyhound  etc....

I dont want to see pizza boxes, kebab packets, burger wrappers, shopping trolleys discarded in there every day. It wont be cleaned if the rubbish collection is anyhting to go by. Money on a monorail (which has been suggested before) or public transport link would be better used IMO.

[janaage]

Stop being a wanker Gazz, I can't wait to moor my canal barge outside Big Fish at 1 o clock on a sunday morning.

[Tails]

I like the idea, but can see it being mistreated and fuck me think of the traffic problems when it's being built.

From what I've seen of the New Swindon company, things are looking up for the town really. Let's just demolish Walcot and the parks to build a huge football stadium with loads of facilities and we'll be sorted.

[yeo]

I wonder how they will fill it up?

Will it fill naturaly through rain water?

The bit up by Rushy Platt has loads of Carp and big old Gold Fish in it but during the Summer it gets covered in Green Algae  which a few volunteers scrape out by hand in a little row boat.The bit further up is a private fishery I think it costs £15 for a day pass up there.It would be cool to sit in the Falcon garden witrh a Fishing rod though

[STFC_Gazzza]

Stop being a wanker Gazz, I can't wait to moor my canal barge outside Big Fish at 1 o clock on a sunday morning.

   

On another note, the new swindon company has knocked down quite a few things, when are they actually going to start building?

[Simon Pieman]

It's a nice idea in terms of character and making the place more picturesque. However £50m is too much money right now for a town with pretty shit amenities. If those are sorted before a canal then good, if not it's a waste of money.

I'm also a bit meh about it on a personal level though.

[Bushey Boy]

The canal is the worst ideal I can imagion, how will rodbourne west swindon and most of that side get to town.  How many people will like a kid to be drown, who will pay teh upkeep

Sort out poverty drugs, policing and our shit hole town centre with 50 million

Bluh has fucked up which is a shame as he is a top guy pre this (imo)

[STFC_Gazzza]

The canal is the worst ideal I can imagion, how will rodbourne west swindon and most of that side get to town.  How many people will like a kid to be drown, who will pay teh upkeep

Sort out poverty drugs, policing and our shit hole town centre with 50 million

Bluh has fucked up which is a shame as he is a top guy pre this (imo)

Another thing it does is divide Swindon even more so. There  is a divide from north and south almost due to the railway with limited crossings which need to be address IMO.

[Bogus Dave]

There is a divide from north and south almost due to the railway

is there? news to me

wouldn't suprise me though, those dirty south swindoners

[Reg Smeeton]

I think it was in about 1913 that SBC had a big plan to buy up the old canal and develop it into a leisure amenity for the town.  Unfortunately the villainous Hun had other ideas, and by the time hostilities had ceased and ecomomic recession ravaged the 20's, the idea was not feasible.

  Shame....but there you are.   As a nipper I was brought up living alongside a wet stretch along Shrivenham Road.....many a happy hour tadpoling,  watching water vole and hunting for bird's nests.

  I can recall the canal before Fleming Way was there....it was dry and a complete mess, but more fun to walk into town, than it is now.   SBC in their notorious stupidity, chopped down the last remaining hawthorn trees that used to line the route, about 2 years ago, to stick up those really needed traffic lights above the road, by the old York Road bridge....cunts.