Here’s where you can give your views on the Cotswold Canals restoration
Published: Monday, 14 January, 2019
Local people, community groups and businesses are all invited to a series of consultation events to ensure the community is at the heart of the canal restoration.
Stroud organisation Creative Sustainability is delivering the project’s community engagement programme and will be working with local people, community groups and businesses over the next few months, creating a range of opportunities for everyone to get involved.
The aim of these initial community engagement events is to support local people and communities in engaging with the canal and wildlife heritage and ensuring that they are involved in all the project’s activities. People will find out more about wildlife conservation along the canal banks, the old canal archives, their local built heritage and engineering projects. The project team will be available to talk about future plans and all the ways people can take part.
Community Engagement Managers Anna Bonallack and Emily Pearson explained: “We want to ensure that the restoration project is inclusive, community-led and benefits local people and communities and our wildlife and heritage.”
Stroud District Council has invested £3 million in the restoration of the Stroudwater Canal. The Heritage Lottery Fund recently awarded £842,000 development funding to continue work on the project ahead of an application for a full grant of £9million which will be made later this year. This will see the canal between Stonehouse and Saul Junction restored, and will link the canal to the national inland waterways network for the first time since it was abandoned in 1954.
Cllr Simon Pickering, chair of SDC’s Environment Committee said: “I hope that as many different people as possible will come to the consultation events, to share their ideas and views, and find out more about how to get involved in this fantastic project.”
If you are interested in getting involved or want to share your views about the canal restoration come along to any of the following events:
Whitminster Village Hall, GL2 7NN
- Saturday Jan 26th - 12-4pm
Eastington Village Hall, GL10 3AT
- Saturday Feb 2nd - 12-4pm
Frampton - Cadbury Hall, GL2 7HG
- Saturday Feb 9th - 12-4pm
Stroud – Subscription Rooms, GL5 1AE
- Fri March 1st – 12-4pm & Sat 2nd March - 10-4pm
Stonehouse Town Hall, GL10 2NG
- Sat March 9th – 2-6pm & Sun 10th March - 12-4pm