Bradley Branch
| Bradley Branch | |
|---|---|
Lock No. 1 lies beneath the West Midlands Metro | |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 0.6 miles (0.97 km) |
| Locks | 9 |
| Status | Filled in |
| History | |
| Date completed | 1849 |
| Date closed | 1950s |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Wednesbury Oak |
| End point | Moorcroft Junction, Moxley |
| Branch of | Birmingham Canal Navigations |
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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.