The wharf and basin above Wallbridge Upper lock

I dropped Helena at the train station so she could head to the Midlands for the weekend.  It was fairly early and there didn't seem to be many people about, so I headed into town. Saturday mornings provide an opportunity to visit the Farmer's Market as well as the old Shambles market and to wander about the streets when they are relatively full of people. But today I was glad that the slight drizzle had probably delayed their arrival.

On my way to park the car, I remembered Camilla mentioned recently that the building works seemed to have started at the Cheapside 'development' next to the canal. This has been a prominent piece of land awaiting development for many years and the Neighbourhood Planning process had brought it into the limelight. We managed to have dialogue with the property developers and were able to get them to change their proposals for the site which fitted in with the intent of the plan.  It also meant that they weren't faced with a fight from anyone opposition to their plans and permission was readily given, which shows the advantage of early dialogue.

The wharf had been a coal yard towards the end of the working life of the canal with boats bringing supplies from the South Wales collieries and probably from the Midlands as well. The stretch of canal leading away from the wharf up the valley towards Capel's Mill has now been drained to start to clear overhanging trees and vegetation on the banks as well as the silted up waterway itself. There are some problems with landslip from the high bank on the left so that the original width of the canal can't yet be fully reinstated. 

The old warehouse beside the canal is listed and will be rebuilt and sold as a conversion for some sort of business premises.  The rest of the site will have some public open space with access to the canal but will also have thirty dwellings consisting of a few houses as well as flats.

I took some pictures to record this moment of transition and I'm really pleased to see that work will soon progress and more improvements to the town. I'm just not sure what a pile of timber poles will be used for.