THE STORY OF CARP When the Independent Council was first elected in 1995 there was already a canal side group led by John Cook and Peter Ginger which arose out of criticisms of Kingsgate. They set about raising awareness of the assets of the canal. I remember this particularly as they asked me to lead a walk and talk to them about the history of the waterway. They were a non-political council led group but had no intention of actually doing any projects requiring capital expenditure. When I joined the Council I decided if possible I wanted to give the existing group a mission to actually improve our waterways through Berkhamsted and increase the footfall. I had a staunch supporter within British Waterways who was immensely helpful. There were also two very active councillors Kenneth Duval and Peter Such. After long consultation with Gino Daurat, the architect of Waitrose, the CARP lock arms were incorporated into the Waitrose design. Mark Lloyd of British Waterways supplied the arms at no cost to us, and the John Lewis Partnership agreed to maintain them. We had a number of very fruitful meetings with the landscape architects and John Lewis. The result was the very pleasant area we now enjoy. Our original plans were for a footbridge across the Bulbourne (A Monet type wooden bridge) leading to a family picnic area on the Dacorum land just beyond adjacent to the canal towpath. Unfortunately this proved too expensive at the time – hopefully we will achieve it in the future! Our next joint activity was the clearance of the old gas works railway alongside the canal, which took coal to the gas works. This was done in partnership with Dacorum Parks department. Following this came the old Waitrose Canal mural delightfully produced by local school children. It has now been dismantled and put into store. It was great fun and we hope at some point to find a new site to put it on display. We then set up CARP as a legal entity with the help of an Intermediate Labour Market placement, a very helpful company secretary. This was funded by the EU via Dacorum. A design and feasibility study was undertaken by British Waterways on behalf of CARP jointly funded by BW, Dacorum and Berkhamsted Town Council again in approximately the same proportions – 50% British Waterways, 75% 37.5% Dacorum and final 12.5% Berkhamsted Council. The Castle Street Bridge redevelopment with the seating and disabled access was our next major project, This area had been a dreadful mess for years and is now used by many people including those with disabilities. The obvious next project was to refurbish the canal towpath so that it was suitable for wheelchairs and mothers with push chairs. The first section of towpath was refurbished with the help of another part time intermediate labour market assistant, who master minded the engineering requirements. Our daffodil planting came about as a result of community donations of nearly £500. The next project was the educational plinths (I believe the accepted term is interpretation panels), conceived written and designed by David Hilling and me and made possible by the enthusiasm of British Waterways. The painted bridge signs were designed by Lindy and executed by Phil Speight, a well-know waterways artist. This was funded in the same proportions as the previous projects. |
The idea of the waterways leaflet was first aired in early 1998 when the first £2000 funding was allocated by Dacorum Council from Town Centres Marketing. BW promised £2000 in 2000 and Berkhamsted Town Council put in the final £1.000. David and I wrote it for CARPwith assistance from Alan Prest of British Waterways and Maria Baveta of Dacorum on technical matters, CARP IS ABSOLUTELY NON POLITICAL. British Waterways is totally non political, the borough council was labour led during the first four years of Carp and conservative led during the second four years. The Town Council was Independent led during the first four years and liberal democrat during the second four years; any claiming of Carp as any kind of political achievement is totally inaccurate. IT IS A TRIBUTE TO TRUE PARTNERSHIP WORKING, It has been decided that in the future we needed to look for sponsorship for our community projects. To this end we decided on a linked schools competition, the results of which could be exhibited and widely linked with opportunities for continued investment in the canal project by the community, particularly involving young peoples activities. British Waterways and Dacorum have funded the School’s project. Work has been carried out primarily by David and me, and then with a great deal of help from British Waterways and Town Centres Marketing at Dacorum. There will goodie bags for all participants and prizes for the winners supplied by British Waterways and Dacorum Council. Berkhamsted Council have made available for daffodil bulbs a further £200 which has purchased 80 sacks, thanks to the generosity of the growers. They have been planted not only along the canal banks throughout the town, but also in a number of other venues where they can be enjoyed by townspeople. Again these have been planted through the good offices of the Hertfordshire Probation Service. They have also done a wonderful job clearing rubbish from the land adjacent to Broadwater Lock and the River Bulbourne. They are currently helping Carp by refurbishing the Victorian railings alongside the canal opposite the station. This work has needed doing for years, so we are delighted to have got done. Other members of Berkhamsted Council are now determine that future projects to which they contribute should concentrate on the River Bulbourne. Lindy Foster Weinreb The Canal and Riverside Partnership CARP
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