Selly Oak development opened by mayor
West Midlands mayor Andy Street formally opened Whitehouse Wharf by unveiling the new information board.
The mayor was helped at the unveiling by pupils of Tiverton Academy and Dr Andrew Hardie, Chair of the Lapal Canal Trust,
Whitehouse Wharf is a £350k development, designed, managed and funded by the Lapal Canal Trust and our more than 50 generous donors.
The Wharf is the essential first part of the restoration of the Dudley No 2 Canal. This will enable boats to turn and enter and exit the soon to be restored section to Harborne Lane Bridge and Selly Oak Park.
It provides Selly Oak with a new water feature at its heart. A place to sit and relax, enjoy nature and watch the boats go by.
Andy Street said: “It 's wonderful to be able to attend the unveiling of Whitehouse Wharf. I 've long been an ardent fan of our unique patchwork of canal networks and believe they should be cherished.
“We 've worked hard with our partners to restore our waterways so that local people can enjoy what is a rather special resource. I look forward to residents right across our region continuing to enjoy our canals in the months and years ahead. ”
Dr Andrew Hardie thanked Andy Street and everyone for coming to support the opening, especially the generous donors such as Veolia, Headley Trust, Garfield Weston and Unite, and we were very pleased to meet a representative of Unite.
The Wharf becomes part of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal owned by the Canal & River Trust.
Adnan Saif Canal & River Trust Director for West Midlands said: “Whitehouse Wharf will open great opportunities for all kinds of water-based activities and will serve to increase the vibrancy and visitor attraction in Selly Oak and wider canal network.
“The Canal & River Trust is pleased to work with the Lapal Canal Trust to achieve this significant milestone, and on future developments. ”
To celebrate the opening, Tiverton Academy were invited to take the return journey to the Vale, the children informed the Mayor how much they had enjoyed the trip, for most their first experience despite living close to the canal. The wharf will be used by many groups taking the one hour journey along the beautiful stretch of canal from Selly Oak to Birmingham.
Rekha Weblin, assistant principal of Tiverton Academy “The children thoroughly enjoyed their class trip to the opening of Whitehouse Wharf, and were very excited about riding on a canal boat and learning about how canals work and function. Thank you for inviting us! ”
The celebration of the opening of Whitehouse Wharf marks the beginning of an important stage in the reconstruction of the historic canal for Birmingham.
Having demonstrated a major funded project, the Lapal Canal Trust now moves on to stage 2 - the route to Harborne Lane Bridge and on to Selly Oak Park. The canal will make Selly Oak a more attractive place to live and work, it will be possible to walk, jog, and relax on benches, with the canal becoming a wonderful place of rest and recreation.
The project is supported by the Community Partnership(CP4SO) for Selly Oak and forms part of their ambitious plans to preserve the many attractive old structures in Selly Oak.