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Shrewsbury
and Newport Canals Trust is now inviting firms of engineers to tender
for a feasilibity study to restore the waterways, which link the
county town with Newport and eventually the Shropshire Union Canal
at Norbury.
After
two years of fund-raising, the trust has achieved its target of
拢20,000, which will allow engineers to study the route and
assess whether the restoration plans can be achieved, how much they
will cost and whether restoration would bring the desired economic
and tourism benefits to the area.
| Read
about the history of the canal and the details of the restoration
plan here |
The
target was achieved thanks to the help of a 拢7,500 grant from
the Inland Waterways Association. The study will take something
like nine months and will look at some quite serious problems that
will have to be overcome if the canal is rebuilt.
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Longden-upon-Tern
Aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford, is the oldest of its type
left in the world
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Many
bridges have been demolished in the years since the canals were
abandoned, and roads have been built across its line. Whole sections
in the Shrewsbury area have been built on, and the engineers may
recommend that new sections are built.
But
features like the iron aqueduct at Longden-upon-Tern still stand
and are a central part of the restoration plan.
All
in all it's estimated that a restoration of the 25 mile route of
the canals will cost up to 拢30 million and will take 10 years.
The
trust hopes the study will lead to lottery cash to start the restoration
work.
Chairman,
David Adams, says it's going to be an in-depth study. He said: "This
is the first major hurdle on the road to getting the canal reconstrusted." |
