Canal could be used to help prevent flooding in Warrington | Warrington Guardian
A PROPOSAL has been made to use a historic canal to help prevent flooding.
The Sankey Canal Restoration Society (SCRS) wants overflow from Sankey Brook to be diverted into the canal.
This follows serious flooding that affected parts of Warrington over the New Year period.
The SCRS, which was formed in 1985, advocates for the canal’s restoration and believes its heritage potential should be maximised.
The proposal was recently discussed with Charlotte Nichols MP.
Ms Nichols said: “It was great to meet with the Sankey Canal Restoration Society to discuss the future of the canal.
“We discussed the history of the Sankey Canal as well as ideas to bring it into modern use for society does – proposal to use the canal as a flood prevention measure.
“I have written to the Environment Agency following our meeting to support the SCRS’s vision for the Sankey Canal and its potential flood prevention properties.”
The canal, which was opened in 1757 to supply coal from Haydock and Parr to the Cheshire salt industry and Liverpool, closed in 1963.
It served as a functioning canal until commercial traffic ceased in 1959 leading to its final closure by the British Waterways Board in 1963.
The SCRS met with the Environment Agency to discuss the proposal.
If approved, the canal would serve as a flood prevention measure alongside the existing Sankey Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme.
SCRS believes that transforming the canal into a flood prevention channel is a viable, long-term solution to the flooding problem in Warrington.
