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Bradley Branch

1849 establishments in EnglandBirmingham Canal NavigationsCanals in the West Midlands (county)Canals opened in 1849Geographic coordinate lists
Lists of coordinatesUse British English from November 2016
Bradley Branch Lock 1 beneath Midland Metro bridge QF
Bradley Branch Lock 1 beneath Midland Metro bridge QF

The Bradley Branch or Bradley Locks Branch was a short canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands, England. Completed in 1849, it included nine locks, and had a number of basins which enabled it to service local collieries and industrial sites. The locks were unusual, as they had a single gate at both ends, rather than double gates at the bottom end. The route closed in the 1950s, and the top seven locks were covered over and landscaped. Since 2008, there have been calls for the branch to be reopened. In 2015 the results of a feasibility study for reopening were published, and the scheme was branded the Bradley Canal, since it would involve the restoration of the Bradley Branch and a connecting link from the top of the canal, using parts of the Wednesbury Oak Loop and the Rotton Brunt line. The plan has been spearheaded by the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, rather than navigation interests, but there is an understanding that boats using the route will ensure that the many other benefits of reopening will be sustainable.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bradley Branch (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bradley Branch
Bilston Road, Sandwell Princes End

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.5506 ° E -2.0509 °
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Address

Bilston Road

Bilston Road
WV14 8PY Sandwell, Princes End
England, United Kingdom
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Bradley Branch Lock 1 beneath Midland Metro bridge QF
Bradley Branch Lock 1 beneath Midland Metro bridge QF
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