Archive - Wednesday, 20 March 2002


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Canals set for restoration

THE RIVERS Severn and Thames are set to be rejoined, following the announcement of a £500 million programme to restore more than 300 miles of inland waterways across the country.

The Stroudwater Navigation, which runs from the Gloucester and Sharpness canal at Saul Junction to Wallbridge in Stroud, and the Thames and Severn Canal which joins the Thames at Lechlade, is expected to cost up to £82 million to restore.

The canals together form a 37 mile stretch which the Cotswold Canals Trust and British Waterways believe will bring an estimated 1.8 million visitors to the area

The venture will also create 500 new permanent jobs and inject £8.5 million in to the local economy.

British Waterways and independent charity, The Waterways Trust unveiled the whole nationwide programme yesterday, Tuesday and will meet Cotswold Canal Trust officials today at Blunder Lock, Stonehouse.

The first stage of the work will be a £150,000 environmental impact assessment, which the South West Regional Development Agency is funding.

And a £50,000 engineering research project is expected to start soon to define a route under the A38 and M5 from Eastington to Whitminster.

For more on this story, and much more Five Valleys news see this week's SNJ