Engineering The Ash Aqueduct

The Opening - speeches     given on Saturday 29th July 1995 on the occasion of the Official Opening of the Ash Aqueduct over the Blackwater Valley Route. Mr GM Lamb (Director of Highways & Transportation, SCC) Mrs Cecelia Gerrard (Chairman, SCC) Mr Grahame Smith (Chairman, HCC) Cllr Alan Rice (Chairman, Joint Management Committee) Mr Howard Stephens (Div. Dir. Alfred McAlpine Construction Ltd)     Mr GM Lamb, Director of Highways & Transportation, SCC: Surrey County Council and particularly the Department of Highways & Transport for Surrey County Council welcomes you to this aqueduct opening. It’s my job just to introduce the people, the distinguished guests here who are going to be doing the opening, and we have with us Mrs Gerrard, Chairman of Surrey County Council, Mr Smith, who’s Chairman of Hampshire County Council and the project is a jointly funded project between the two County Councils, Howard Stevens who is Divisional Director Civil Engineering of Alfred McAlpine who actually built the aqueduct, Councillor Rice, Chairman of the canal’s Joint Management Committee, and the winners of our newspaper Competition Judy Lawrence and Roy Baker. Mrs Gerrard and Mr Smith will shortly be unveiling a plaque which will ultimately be firmly secured to the aqueduct, but before they do so they’re both going to say a few words on behalf of the County Councils, and Councillor Rice will follow that with a few words on behalf of the Joint Management Committee, which is then followed by Howard Stephens on behalf of the Contractors and he will present presentational scissors to cut the tape to formally declare the canal open.     Mrs Gerrard, Chairman of Surrey County Council: Thank you very much Mr Lamb and good morning everyone. The Chairman of Hampshire Council, Sir Cranley and Lady June Onslow we’re very glad they could join us, your Worship - there are a lot of Worships here this morning, you’re all very welcome, Chairmen, which covers also a lot of people I think, colleagues and friends, and also the winners of our competition, we’re very glad they could join us this morning. It’s about 10 years ago when I was actually Chairman of the planning committee at Surrey, that I was in a room with representatives from Hampshire and we signed a sort of declaration of intent I suppose, that we would go ahead with the Blackwater Valley Route, and now if like me you’re a bit of a fan of "Yes Prime Minister" you may know the lines by Sir Humphrey which say "Foreign policy is about surviving into the next century but politics is about surviving until Friday afternoon" and I feel a bit that way today. I’m actually here 10 years on and it’s a wonderful feeling, having seen it and I believe it's coming in pretty well on time, from the original estimates so that is extremely well worth while and shows excellent co-operation that the two counties have had on this project. I understand that in the world of civil engineering an aqueduct nowadays is a very unusual project and I understand some of the technical speakers may be enlarging on this so I won’t steal their thunder beforehand but I’m sure that those who have worked on the aqueduct will have a most interesting entry on their CV in future when they say they’ve worked on an aqueduct. The need for the Blackwater Valley Route and that of course is the road which we are actually standing over at the moment, was recognised by both County Councils and we have worked to ensure that the maximim benefit is given to the area as a whole, and this has meant great attention being paid to environmental and ecological issues and I know that there have been many volunteers also involved in this work. There have been new habitats for rare species, development of woodland areas and noise bunds, and provision of tunnels under the road for reptiles and amphibians - well, if they were going to get to cross the road underneath it seemed only fair that the human beings should be allowed. to cross over the road on top, and so we have this aqueduct which takes the Basingstoke Canal over what will be by certainly the end of next year, the Blackwater Valley Route. I understand the aqueduct has been built in just 9 months which is a marvellous achievement, and it’s a great recreational feature the Basingstoke Canal and I have to say that our predecessors and the present people on both County Councils and the Basingstoke Canal, everybody who’s been involved in this is to be congratulated. There’s a long list of thanks too to Alfred McAlpine Construction, to Surrey Engineering and Highways Department, and of course to our partners in Hampshire, and I suppose we really should thank the Department of Transport for the money. Also the Basingstoke Canal Authority for their help and the Canal Society for its patience and for lending us the John Pinkerton and also Tony Harmsworth the Waterways Manager who had to ensure there was actually some water in the aqueduct for today’s visit. Not least we thank all the adjoining District Councils - Guildford, Surrey Heath, Runnymead, Woking, Rushmoor and Hart, and all the local residents and businesses. It’s been very much a joint effort, in budget and on time and I’m sure will prove a great asset in the increasing recreational use of our waterways, thankyou. [applause]

Mr Grahame Smith, Chairman of Hampshire County Council: Madam Chairman, your Worships, distinguished guests, including the winners of the competition, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Hampshire County Council I am delighted to be here today to mark the opening of this fine piece of engineering. It marks another step forward in the completion of the Blackwater Valley Route which should do so much to relieve the congested local roads in the area of traffic. The whole Blackwater Valley Route and project has been a fine example of local government achievement involving collaboration between two County Councils and liason with several District Councils to achieve the construction of a project costing around 170 million pounds. Part of the route in Hampshire and Surrey has been open to traffic for some time, and I know we in Hampshire are looking forward to the completion of this centre section. This aqueduct maintains the continuity of the Basingstoke Canal, the restoration of which is itself the result of collaboration over many years between the two County Councils. I think this fine aqueduct does justice to both the canal and the road, to be enjoyed by users of both as a fine piece of civil engineering. Thank you. [applause]     Cllr Alan Rice, Chairman of the Joint Management Committee: Madam Chairman, Mr Chairman, your Worships, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. In my capacity as Chairman of the Basingstoke Canal’s Joint Management Committee, I would like to thank all those who have contributed so much to the building of this splendid aqueduct and its brilliant design. As we look at this new aqueduct built with all the benefits of modern technology, maybe we should remember that the original Ash embankment on which we are now standing was constructed in the 1790s by men with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows, and horses and carts bringing soil from the great cutting at Deepcut. Last September you will remember we had our birthday, our 200th anniversary, and for 200 years this canal has stood as one of the great landmarks of the canal system and indeed the British canal system, and I was pleased to hear a little while ago the Basingstoke Canal described as the most beautiful in the country, and I would like to agree with that, it is delightful. The construction of the Blackwater Valley Relief Road has, as you’ve heard, necessitated the severing of the 18th century embankment, but the two halves have now been joined together and normal traffic can resume after a period of about 9 months, and we commend the engineers on working such a good timetable. I mentioned that the embankment was an 18th century feature of the canal, but this canal is not locked into its historical past, it moves with our times, and we are delighted that future generations will have such an imposing 20th century landmark to accord our period of stewardship of this canal. Madam Chairman, Mr Chairman, in thanking you on behalf of your two County Councils for all the work, obvious so much has been done behind the scenes that has gone into creating this aqueduct, we must also not forget the management and the work force of Alfred McAlpine’s, without whose sterling efforts through some appalling weather in the early part of the winter, this project could not have been completed on time or the canal opened today. To everyone who has been involved with this project in whatever capacity, from all of us who are associated with the canal, and its management, and its enjoyment, we send our grateful congratulations and thanks for this outstanding achievement. [applause]     Mr Howard Stephens, Alfred McAlpine Construction: Madam Chairman, Mr Chairman, MPs, distinguished guests and all those people who have come here today, because somebody’s arranged a super day. Oh we weren’t quite responsible for the weather, so on behalf of Alfred McAlpine let me welcome you all, and just to offer my public appreciation to Surrey County Council for the design of this job. To the locals, because I understand that there has been some problems, just coping with one or two things like noise and dust and I do appreciate the assistance they’ve given us, and also to of course the local bats, bats that have now a desirable residence on the right hand side, and particularly of course to our staff, and to our work force. Rest assured it’s not always like this, and they have worked their socks off and I thank them all because I think people don’t appreciate that this business is still about the skill of hand and eye, and it’s about effort and persperation and just a little inspiration, so thanks to all our fellows who have been down on that job. Besides being a practicing civil engineer, and it has been suggested that I should give up practicing and start doing the real thing, I also have an interest in the history of civil engineering, and I think this particular aqueduct offers today a very good link with the history of civil engineering. 200 years ago this canal was built, by men with picks and shovels, hard working, British navigators, and that name of course has gone on. It’s gone on so that the machines you see, excavators on site now are still called navvies to this day. The navvies, a very skilled man that was much respected, not only when he built his canals but also of course when he went on to build, in the next century, railways. And subsequently we employ the descendants of these people to build our roads, the same skills, the same dedication is needed. And of course the important thing of course is that the canal system was the first attempt to actually give an integrated transport system for this country. The industrial revolution probably would have taken off a lot less quickly had we not had a decent transport system, and now of course the transport system underneath us which is not quite yet complete, the road system, so it marks I think, a very important link. Madam Chairman, aqueducts are fairly unique, we have actually built one before. We built one over the M25, and you will be pleased to know, it does not leak. [laughter]. So looking back at 200 years let's also hope that the civil engineering industry itself, that industry which serves this country very well in everything it does, in it’s environmental appreciation, it's skills and its dedication will go on for another 200 years, because I think we have to nurture those skills, and all I have to do now is really offer both Chairmen this little packet which we hope they will accept and we’ll start cutting tapes. Thank you very much indeed. [applause] [Note: the 'little packet' referred to by Mr Stephens was actually two packets containing Presentation Scissors to cut the tape.]   BACK

Last updated November 2001