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Meadow Lane Waterfront
Regeneration |
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Client & Design Award
Project Team: British
Waterways (client),
Atkins (design)
The Project
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3D impression of the
regenerated Meadow Lane Lock |
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The Nottingham Beeston Canal provides boaters with a
route from Meadow Lane Nottingham to Beeston Lock, avoiding
a non-navigable length of the River Trent. Via its towpath,
it provides other users with an off-highway pedestrian
and cycle link to the commercial and retail facilities
in the centre of Nottingham, and is also a route to
work for many.
The towpath currently ends at Meadow Lane Lock in Nottingham,
and for some years there have been aspirations to connect
the canal towpath to other leisure routes along the
River Trent and to provide a route to Beeston Lock.
After several years of investigations and feasibility
studies, a scheme has been designed to connect the canal
towpath and river bank near Meadow Lane Lock, creating
a 10-mile circular route as part of what is known as
the 'Big Wheel' leisure route, while retaining all existing
water-based access.
To connect the towpath to the Trent embankment, a bridge
over the lock and an elevated walkway on the riverside
will be constructed, all of which will be higher than
the river flood levels.
Project benefits
The £1.5 million project will create a green,
traffic-free route to Nottingham city centre for walkers,
cyclists, boaters and disabled visitors by providing
the key missing link between the existing canal towpath
and Victoria Embankment.
Planned improvements include the installation of a
wider footbridge and the creation of a public rest area
as well as a river-viewing platform. In addition, the
scheme will create more visitor moorings for boats along
the River Trent and an improved boater amenity building.
The towpath will also be resurfaced, completing the
final stage of the ongoing development work, which has
taken place over the last five years along the Nottingham
Beeston Canal.
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3D impression of the
refurbished lock |
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The wider regeneration context
The programme, which has been championed by Nottingham
Waterside Limited (NWL), is to provide an important
gateway to Nottingham's 'Big Track' sustainable circular
transport route through the city centre and provide
an attractive link to Nottingham's largest regeneration
areas - the Waterside Regeneration Zone.
The regeneration is being funded by various partners
including British
Waterways, East
Midlands Development Agency (emda), Nottingham
City Council and the Homes
& Communities Agency , as part of the Growth
Point Initiative.
Construction
Work on site started on 23 February 2009 and is due
to be completed by August 2009. Local residents and
businesses were informed in advance of construction
commencing. Existing use of the towpath will not be
affected and disruption to boaters is hoped to be kept
to a minimum, with restricted lock passage in place
during designated time slots. Morrison Construction
is the main contractor for the works, and construction
of the project is now also being assessed under CEEQUAL.
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