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Council backs canal restoration plans
Stroud District Council (SDC) has approved plans for the regeneration of 5.7 miles (9.2km) of the Cotswold Canals between Brimscombe Port and Stonehouse in Gloucestershire.
The £18m scheme includes the creation of a multi-use cycleway and footpath, which will also be extended by a further 3.6 miles (5.8km) from Stonehouse to Saul. Work on the project, which involves part of the Thames and Severn Canal and part of the Stroudwater Canal, got underway last summer with volunteers clearing Gough's Orchard Lock and around 0.5 miles (0.8km) has already been restored, including the construction of two new bridges.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has already committed £12m towards Phase 1A of the canal scheme, with funding also being provided by SDC, the Cotswold Canal Trust, Waterways Trust, Sport England and Gloucestershire County Council. A spokesperson for SDC said that a restoration timetable will be drawn up following the appointment of a project manager, but confirmed that it is hoped construction can begin this year on two new bridges alongside the continuing restoration work at Gough's Orchard.
It is part of a wider project to regenerate the entire 37 mile (59.6km)-length of the two canals in order to reconnect the River Thames and the River Severn, and work has also already started on other sections of the canal to open the towpath, which will be known as the Thames and Severn Way.