Volunteers to reopen canal visitor centre

The centre will be staffed entirely by volunteers moving forward

A visitor centre along Chesterfield Canal is to reopen two months after it was closed due to financial issues.

Tapton Lock Visitor Centre in Lockoford Lane recently acquired a new licence from Derbyshire County Council to resume operations and will open again on Saturday.

The centre provides refreshments and information on the work and history of the canal, which stretches 46 miles from the River Trent in north Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield Basin.

Chesterfield Canal Trust chair Peter Hardy said: "We have a dedicated group of volunteers who are going to come to our aid and man the building."

Derbyshire County Council, which owns the building, announced in May it would be closing the information centre and café for financial reasons.

Chesterfield Canal Trust was then successful in an application to lease the ground floor of the building to be solely run by volunteers.

Mr Hardy said he was delighted to begin to get the centre back up and running.

He added: "We hope it will be successful and people will come to visit us."

The centre will initially open between 10:00 to 15:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays but the trust aims for it to be open more often in future and offer more amenities.