WORK on a new bridge over the canal at Upper Mills Industrial Estate in Stonehouse will begin this August, Stroud District Council has announced.

SDC this week awarded the £400,000 contract to Cheltenham-based Britannia Construction, which will spend around 10 weeks designing the bridge in detail and a further 10 weeks constructing it.

Built out of brick and concrete, the new bridge will replace a low-level crossing at the site, which was originally a swing bridge.

To accommodate the height difference between the old and new bridges, a 100m length of canal will be rerouted nearer the A419 Bristol Road.

Its style will be similar to the adjacent Stonehouse and Haywards Bridges.

"This is a big step forward for the canal," said Cllr Keith Pearson, SDC’s cabinet member for regeneration.

"With work starting on the A46 bridge in Stroud this month, this is really going to put the canal project in the public eye."

Britannia Construction’s contracts manager, Robert Rees, added: "We are delighted to be working on this high profile project which will bring big benefits to the community.

"We hope this will be the start of a long association between us and the Cotswold Canals."

Once the work has been completed, the canal will be free of obstructions between Stonehouse Ocean and Ryeford Double Lock, allowing dredging work to take place around Christmas.

Restoration of the canals between Brimscombe and Stonehouse is being led by SDC.

Principal funders in the project are the Heritage Lottery Fund, the South West Regional Development Agency, SDC and Gloucestershire County Council.