Glasson is proud of new canal gateway

Glasson Dock regeneration project. From left: Christine Milligan, Anne Kingston (LEF), Nick Smith, Christine Rowland, Frank Ford and Maggie Stainton. Photo: Stephen Garnett Photography. Images courtesy: Canal & River Trust.

The Canal & River Trust, which looks after the Lancaster Canal, has worked in partnership with Thurnham Parish Council to complete the project.

Thurnham Parish Council successfully secured a £17,280 Landfill Communities Fund grant from the Lancashire Environmental Fund along with contributions from the Canal & River Trust to carry out the transformation.

New shrubs, trees and a grassed area were planted to replace overgrown vegetation and broken and uneven paving. A new bench now offers a viewpoint to enjoy the renewed space and look out onto the Dock and cycle racks have also been installed nearby via Morecambe Bay Partnership.

Nick Smith, Enterprise Manager at the Canal & River Trust has been leading on the regeneration project with Thurnham Parish Council, he said: “We’ve worked with the local community to improve the main approach into the village, changing an area that had become an eyesore into a much more open and inviting space. It’s brilliant to help make a positive difference to this community and to provide a much more fitting welcome to the Lancaster Canal and help create a space people can feel proud of.”

Maggie Stainton from Thurnham Parish Council said: “Residents at our public consultation in 2013 were clear about the need to do something about old mooring site known locally as the ‘Babagee area’, an overgrown area of land which is a key gateway into for visitors to Glasson.

“We responded to the requests of residents to bring about a positive change to their village and put our efforts into making this happen and creating an inviting entrance to Glasson for visitors and locals alike “