Derby Canal Trust to build new pontoon on River Derwent (2024)

Since 2022 a solar-powered boat has taken people on trips along the River Derwent in Derby, raising awareness about plans to restore the Derby Canal.

But there has been a problem - the boat could not be fully charged by the sun because it was moored under a bridge.

Now a pontoon is set to be installed on the river, meaning the boat will be able to run completely off sunlight.

The Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust, which operates the boat, said the pontoon will make the trips more environmentally friendly, and enable wheelchair users to get aboard.

Trust chairman Chris Madge said: "We're in Derby and as everybody knows, we're the centre of engineering excellence in the country, so a lot of our members are engineers by nature.

"It was really important to all of us that we made it environmentally friendly."

The boat was designed with the help of trust vice-chairman Mike Wingfield, who also works at Rolls-Royce in Derby, where he looks for new technologies that will help the company.

The boat's propulsion is powered by electricity, similar to an electric car.

But unlike an electric car, the boat's batteries can be charged in two ways - either by plugging it in to an electricity supply, or by solar panels on the roof.

There is a charging point at the boat's current mooring under the bridge.

The mooring at Phoenix Green was chosen as the best place to keep the boat when the boat was launched in 2022, but because the boat is in the shade it cannot be charged by sunlight.

The new pontoon - essentially a large floating platform - will be located near the bridge but in a more visible spot that is not shaded.

"We want it [the pontoon] to be the start of having boats visible in the city centre and building towards a waterfront in Derby," said Mr Wingfield.

"There's always been a criticism that Derby has turned its back on the river and we feel this is the way to address that."

It is hoped the River Derwent will eventually link up with the Derby Canal once it has been restored.

The Derby Canal was completed in 1796 and ran 14 miles (23 km) from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre.

It was mainly used for transporting coal, but its use declined following the arrival of the railways.

Commercial traffic ceased in the 1940s and the canal closed completely in 1964.

"Over time it was filled in to make it safe and converted into paths," said Mr Madge.

The Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust wants to "undo" the closure and restore the canal as closely as possible to its original route.

"It just produces such benefits to everybody, to the community," said Mr Madge.

"It provides activities for everybody, so paddle-boarding as well as normal boats, and fishing.

"It's great in terms of regeneration, in terms of the businesses that go along the canal, and everybody just seems to relax when they're on water."

The canal will not be able to follow its original route through Derby city centre as it has been built on in places, so instead it will follow a new route that crosses over part of the River Derwent.

Boats will also be able to cruise along part of the River Derwent.

The trust is proposing to build a huge electro-mechanical structure close to Pride Park that would lift boats out of the restored canal and place them down into the river.

It would be known as the Derby Arm Boat Lift, and would be one of only three big canal boat lifts in the UK.

The existing ones are the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, and the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, which attracts more than 650,000 paying visitors a year.

“The Derby Arm would become not only a regional landmark but also an international tourist attraction," said Mr Madge, who added that it would be "a statement of the city’s pioneering heritage in innovative engineering".

The trust has had planning permission for the pontoon for more than a year but is waiting for final approval from Derby City Council.

"We're waiting for all the elements to come together, the council permissions, and the final sanction of the design," said Mr Madge.

"We just need to build it now."

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