What will canals project mean for Stroud?

The project has the backing of a strong community consortium called the Cotswold Canals Partnership.

The organisations involved include: Stroud District Council; Gloucestershire County Council; Gloucestershire First, Cotswold Canals Trust; South West Regional Development Agency; Environment Agency; The Inland Waterways Association; The Waterways Trust; South West Tourism; Company of Proprietors Stroudwater Navigation; Cotswold Water Park Society, Wiltshire County Council, Cotswold and North Wiltshire district councils.

On behalf of British Waterways, regeneration manager Andrew Stumpf answers some of the most frequent questions asked about the project and what it will mean for Stroud.

Q Where is the money coming from to restore the canal?

A Phase one of the restoration, which will run 10 miles from Saul Junction to Brimscombe Port, will cost £40 million.

On behalf of the Cotswold Canals Partnership, we have submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for around half the cost.

Stroud District Council has pledged £2.25 million towards the project and we have also applied to the South West Regional Development Agency for a significant contribution to the project.

We'll be looking to source the remaining funds from the charitable, private and public sectors, including money raised by the Cotswold Canals Trust.

So it's a mixture of public, private and voluntary sector money that will enable this important public project and unlock the potential benefit of the canals to the local community.

Q Will restoration work cause a lot of disruption to local people?

A There will undoubtedly be some inconvenience caused by engineering works, especially in town centre sites like Wallbridge, but British Waterways has experience of restoring over 220 miles of canal across the country, including stretches through busy town centres like Bath.

Our approach aims to minimise disruption to local people by using creative solutions to overcome some times difficult logistical problems.

Assuming our stage one bid to HLF is successful, we will be working up detailed plans in consultation with local communities to ensure that issues such as works access and timing take into account local needs.

This will be particularly important where there is the potential for works to disrupt businesses, such as the restoration of a bridge.

Q Once the canal is restored and tourism starts to grow, will visitors to the area cause disruption to towns and villages along the routes?

A Many people I talk to express concerns about the potential car parking and litter problems associated with large numbers of visitors.

We predict the first phase of the restoration will bring an extra 725,000 visitor days (one person visiting every day = 365 visitor days) to the area each year, generating £2.7 million for the local economy. But our experience of the way people access canals in other areas of the country, including rural waterways like the Kennet & Avon Canal, shows that with thought and planning, it is manageable.

Our visitor management strategy, which forms part of the plan we are putting together to guide the restoration and subsequent management of the Cotswold Canals, looks at suitable parking locations to guide people to, as well as options for green transport access to the waterways.

It doesn't necessarily mean new car parks are required. Our research shows there are several existing car parks underused at peak visitor times (weekends).

Add to that the promotion of sustainable means of reaching and exploring the canal - walking, cycling, public transport - and we can begin to see the canal as a valuable 'green' transport corridor.

Careful planning and the encouragement of new businesses will also ensure that the waterways are kept attractive places to visit and enjoy.

Q Will another waterway increase the risk of flooding in the Stroud Valley?

A Canals actually reduce the risk of flooding by providing an extra channel to take water away.

Furthermore, the water in restored canals can be carefully controlled through the operation of locks, sluice gates and byeweirs.

Q In the summer, when water levels are low, where will the water come from to supply the canal?

A The Stroudwater Canal was never short of water and is now fed by the brooks at Wallbridge. Most of the time in most years water supply will not be a problem.

However we are working closely with the Environment Agency and Stroud District Council to make sure the stretch to Brimscombe Port can be kept fed without compromising extreme dry weather flows in any of the adjacent rivers and streams. We can, of course, recycle much of the water when necessary through back pumping.

In the long term, when the canal is fully restored from Saul to Lechlade, we will need to find potential sites to create reservoirs where excess winter water can be stored for use in the canal during the summer.

These sites will themselves create new wildlife habitats and areas for recreation.

Q How viable will the 10-mile section of restored canal be for boating?

A The planned restoration up to Brimscombe Port links into the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal which connects to the River Severn and the rest of the waterway network, including the canals in Birmingham.

Once this phase is completed, it will in fact be possible to take a boat as far north as Ripon or Lancaster, and as far south as Taunton via the Bristol Channel.

We anticipate many boats will make the journey to Brimscombe to see the restored waterway and with the help of Brimscombe and Thrupp Parish Council, we are already looking at ideas of how to make the most of Brimscombe Port to create an exciting focal point for visitors.

Q Many sections of the derelict waterways are extremely attractive and home to a range of wildlife.

How will the restoration affect the plants and animals that live along the canal?

A Through careful planning and management, restored canals can actually promote biodiversity.

At the moment, the derelict waterways are unmanaged and therefore likely to change, with more and more sections drying up.

In fact, if it wasn't for the work of volunteers over the years, there would be very few sections remaining in water now. If the channel dries up it simply cannot support the same range of wildlife.

The planned restoration will ensure that wildlife habitats are protected and where possible enhanced.

For example, we'll install soft bank protection using materials like interwoven hazel branches and coir rolls - essentially coconut matting - which allow creatures like the endangered water vole to burrow into the banks.

These banks will be planted with native waterside plants and reeds, which in turn provide habitats for fish, birds and insects like dragonflies and butterflies.

Our experience elsewhere in the country - last year British Waterways and its partners completed eight major canal restoration projects - together with help and advice from experts in organisations like the Wildlife Trusts, English Nature and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, means we are confident that both during and after restoration we can protect and promote the wildlife of the canals just as effectively as we can the heritage structures like locks and bridges.

On the Kennet & Avon Canal, we actually temporarily re-homed water voles during the relining of the Bath Valley and successfully returned them to the canal just months after the works on each section were completed.

Q Will the restoration of the canals have an adverse affect on property prices?

A Research shows that waterside property commands up to a 20 per cent premium as people love to live, work, socialise and relax by the water, enjoying the feeling of space and calm it provides.

Across the country, restored canals are proving to be catalysts for both urban and rural regeneration with the development of new houses and offices and the redevelopment of historic buildings in previously run-down brownfield sites within the canal corridor.

Across the country, same towns and cities that turned their backs on the waterways in the years of decline and dereliction are now rediscovering historic canals, basins, locks, warehouses and wharves as the focal points of vibrant renaissance.

In fact, following the restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal, research reveals £350million has been invested since 1995 in 23 new commercial developments alongside the reopened canal, 18 of which are on brownfield sites.

Demonstrating the importance of the canal within the local economy, 80 per cent of local tourism and leisure related businesses report an increase in turnover over the last three years, and 46 per cent also report an increase in staff.

Q: How can local people express their views on the canal restoration project?

A: BW has attended several open parish and town council meetings over recent months to present the planned project and more will be held in the future at which local people can express their views. People can also log on to www.britishwaterways.co.uk/cotswolds and email a response to us or contact us on cotswolds.feedback@britishwaterways.co.uk.