Fury at Last-Minute Change to Pier Head Canal Link

By OLIVER SIDORCZUK

HISTORIC monuments at Liverpool’s Pier Head are to be dismantled and removed to pave the way for the building of Britain’s first new canal for more than a century.

British Waterways, who manage 2,000 miles of canals in the UK, wants to relocate the King Edward VII monument and the Sir Alfred Lewis Jones memorial from the Pier Head.

The scheme comes as the canal company submitted a last-minute application to change the route.

The revised course would lead to the West Waterloo Dock being filled in, a proposal that has angered local residents who insist the dock needs to be preserved.

The canal company plans a new stretch of canal connecting Trafalgar Dock, close to the Stanley Warehouse complex, and Canning Dock, via the Pier Head.

The regeneration plan will mean that the statues are carefully dismantled, removed and then put into storage.

The Edward VII monument will eventually return to its original home and the memorial to Sir Alfred will be moved to a new site at the Docklands. The statues will be transported to make way for the project that aims to attract 200,000 extra visitors annually to the area, generating an additional pounds 1.9m for the city.

The canal scheme, which received pounds 9.5m from the Government earlier this month, will allow boats to cruise from the existing Leeds and Liverpool canal to the Albert Dock and onwards within the south docks.

This is a big opportunity for the city to benefit from one of its most neglected assets, as it hopes to create a vibrant waterfront area that “brings the surrounding public areas to life”.

The flagship 2008 scheme will mean that the majestic five-metre high equestrian statue of King Edward VII, which was originally intended to be located outside the south entrance to St. George’s Hall, needs to be moved.

The other eight-metre memorial, dedicated to Sir Alfred Jones, is found at the end of the Pier Head and takes the form of a tall granite pedestal, with a bronze female representing Liverpool.

Helen Hall, of British Waterways said: “Both bronzes will be moved by staff from Liverpool Conservation Centre and stored for the duration of the works.”

Weeks before work is due to start, British Waterways wants to adjust the canal’s route. If plans are allowed, the scheme would be shifted several metres inland at Trafalgar dock, allowing more attractive landscaping.

The dock would then be filled in with rubble to create a flat area. Locals fear this would provide potential new building sites and angry residents in the Waterloo Warehouse area have pledged to fight the plans.

Chairman of the Residents’ Association Tony O’Leary said: “When we bought these apartments, the attraction was that we were overlooking the water.

Kirkdale Cllr Malcolm Kennedy said: “We have had no indication of what might eventually be built on the in-filled dock, and I find that dishonest.”

What do you think?

Email us with your views at letters@dailypost.co.uk, or write to us at the address on Page 14

(c) 2007 Daily Post; Liverpool. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.