THE Tapton Lock Visitors Centre on the Chesterfield Canal in the town is an important part in the restoration of the waterway, but is is danger of being closed.
With cuts to Government funding, Derbyshire County Council, that has been most generous in its support of the restoration, has to make cuts, especially to things not required by law, and the Tapton Lock Visitors Centre could be one of them.
Widely used
The centre is widely used by the Chesterfield Canal Trust to promote the restoration as well as providing information, refreshments and being a small shop for the use of its many visitors.
But the council has to protect its front-line services, which means those that are not essential could go, the visitor centre being one of them. The centre is open daily between 10am and 4pm, closing for lunch between 1pm and 1.45pm on Monday and Friday.
Explore towpath
In addition to providing food and drink, the council introduced the hire of a mobility scooter to enable the impaired to explore further along the towpath, that is fully accessible from Tapton Lock to Staveley.
The Chesterfield Canal Trust also runs the very popular boat trips along the restored section of the canal on Sundays and Bank Holidays throughout summer as well as evening trips.
If you believe that the centre should remain open, please complete the consultation document, that runs until Friday 6th May. Consultation document.