Graffiti removal prject will reveal lost detail of city canals
10 March 2010
Important features of Wolverhampton’s industrial heritage are set to be revealed in the coming weeks as a project to remove layers of graffiti from many of the city’s canal bridges gets underway.
The 8 week project, being undertaken in partnership between British Waterways and Wolverhampton City Council, will see graffiti removed from approximately half of the bridges along the city’s canal network.It’s hoped that the project will make the Wolverhampton canal network more attractive and reveal important heritage features enabling local communities to take greater pride in their local environment.
As the bridges vary in age the graffiti will be removed using a new technique aimed at protecting the brickwork of historic structures. A team of workers from British Waterways’ contractor May Gurney will spray the bridges with a special gel to dissolve the paint before removing both the gel and the paint with jets of steam. A suction system will be used to capture the paint residue to ensure that the canal isn’t polluted.
The project will target bridges owned by both British Waterways and Wolverhampton City Council on the Birmingham Mainline and Staffordshire & Worcester Canals.
John Harris, British Waterways’ senior regeneration manager said; “This project will breathe new life into the region’s historic canal network. By removing the graffiti we hope to make the Wolverhampton canal network more welcoming and give people a sense of pride and ownership in their local canal, encouraging more families to go out and rediscover what it has to offer.”
Councillor Paddy Bradley, Wolverhampton City Council's cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said: "Much is being done to make our canals attractive but sadly bridges do seem to be a target for graffiti vandals. We are delighted to be working in partnership with British Waterways to clean up a significant proportion of our canal bridges and treat the surfaces so that any future graffiti will be much simpler to clean off. This is an excellent scheme and we fully support it."
ENDS
For further press information please contact:
Stephen Hardy, Communications Manager on 07920 077190 or email stephen.hardy@britishwaterways.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
British Waterways cares for 2,200 miles of the nation's canals and rivers. Rich in heritage, abundant in wildlife and teeming with activity, inland waterways are as popular today as they've ever been. Half the population lives within five miles of one of our waterways and an incredible 11 million people use them every year as part of their everyday life – as a short-cut to work, for walking the dog or simply for taking time-out and watching the boats. British Waterways' job is to ensure the waterways attract enough investment to be well maintained and remain appealing to society and the local communities through which they pass.
www.britishwaterways.co.uk