Blog by Adam WIlletts
Bringing Birmingham’s waterways back to life
The Icknield Port Loop canal - the waterway which surrounds our Port Loop development in Birmingham, is an interesting stretch of water.
It was engineered by James Brindley and opened to traffic on 6th November 1769. Birmingham businessmen believed that raw materials and manufactured goods could be better moved by canal – with records showing that the first ever boat-load of coal to arrive via the Icknield Port Loop waterway reduced costs by 50% - with coal coming in at 7 shillings per tonne. In the years after its launch, the canal was extended and reached Wolverhampton, with access to the ports of Bristol, Liverpool and Hull.
