Millennium Link
Encyclopedia
The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways
. The Union Canal
and the Forth & Clyde Canal were joined by a flight of locks
. The Millennium Link project replaced the lock with an ingenious and unique boat lift
, the Falkirk Wheel
.
The project launch was in October 1994, and it received a grant of £ 32 million from the Millennium Commission; the total cost of the project was £ 78 million.
Work started in 1998.
with plans for a new large boatlift named The Kelpies.
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
. The Union Canal
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
and the Forth & Clyde Canal were joined by a flight of locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
. The Millennium Link project replaced the lock with an ingenious and unique boat lift
Boat lift
A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane....
, the Falkirk Wheel
Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift located in Scotland, UK,connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, opened in 2002. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk which is in central Scotland...
.
The project launch was in October 1994, and it received a grant of £ 32 million from the Millennium Commission; the total cost of the project was £ 78 million.
Work started in 1998.
Partners in the Millennium Link project
- City of Edinburgh Council
- East Dunbartonshire Council
- Falkirk Council
- Glasgow City Council
- North Lanarkshire Council
- West Dunbartonshire Council
- West Lothian CouncilWest Lothian CouncilWest Lothian Council is one of 32 local authorities in Scotland and has 32 elected members Councillors who are elected every 4 years.The Council makes its decisions at its meetings, or those of its Committees and Sub-Committees....
- Millennium CommissionMillennium CommissionThe Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery....
- British WaterwaysBritish WaterwaysBritish Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
- Scottish Natural HeritageScottish Natural HeritageScottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...
- Central Scotland Countryside Trust
- East of Scotland European Partnership
- Strathclyde European Partnership
- Scottish EnterpriseScottish EnterpriseScottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
- Edinburgh Canal SocietyEdinburgh Canal SocietyThe Edinburgh Canal Society is a charitable canal society on the Union Canal in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Society's main base is Ashley Terrace Boathouse at Lockhart Bridge, near Harrison Park in the Polwarth area of Edinburgh....
- Ratho Union Canal Society Association - now defunct
- Falkirk and District Canal Society based at CamelonCamelonCamelon is a large settlement within the Falkirk council area, Scotland. The village is in the Forth Valley, west of Falkirk, south of Larbert and east of Bonnybridge...
, FalkirkFalkirkFalkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow.... - Paisley Canal and Waterways Society
- Scottish Inland Waterways AssociationScottish Inland Waterways AssociationThe Scottish Inland Waterways Association was a registered charity and association of canal societies and individual canal enthusiasts in Scotland....
- Forth and Clyde Canal SocietyForth and Clyde Canal SocietyThe Forth and Clyde Canal Society is a waterway society on the Forth & Clyde Canal in the Lowlands of Scotland, UK, and was formed in 1980 to 'campaign for the Forth and Clyde's preservation, restoration and development'...
- Linlithgow Union Canal SocietyLinlithgow Union Canal SocietyThe Linlithgow Union Canal Society is a waterway society and a Scottish registered charity based at Linlithgow Canal Centre on the Union Canal at Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland...
- Seagull TrustSeagull TrustSeagull Trust Cruises is a waterway society and Scottish charity in Scotland, UK.The Trust was formed in 1978 and offers free canal cruising for disabled and disadvantaged persons and groups. It is the largest service provider of its kind within the UK. It is run entirely by volunteers...
- List of waterway societies in the United Kingdom
Falkirk Ecopark
A follow-up project known as the Falkirk HelixFalkirk Helix
-Project Overview:The Helix project will transform under-used land between Falkirk and Grangemouth into a thriving urban greenspace covering some 300 hectares....
with plans for a new large boatlift named The Kelpies.
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...