Stroud District Council leaders have recommended investing £1.5million towards completing restoration work on the “Missing Mile” of the Stroudwater Canal west of Stonehouse.
The extra funds, along with more pledged by partners, would be put towards completion of Phase 1B of the canal restoration subject to the National Lottery Heritage Fund providing matched funding.
“Stroud District Council recognises the benefits of the canal restoration to communities, the environment, heritage and the local economy and is committed to completing the project and reconnecting the Stroudwater Canal to the national canal network at Saul Junction, thereby making Stroud and Stonehouse canal towns once again,” said Council Leader Chloe Turner after last night’s Strategy and Resources Committee meeting, which recommended the extra allocation.
All of the project partners including Cotswold Canals Trust, Gloucestershire County Council, and the Stroud Valleys Canal Company have agreed to secure a further £4million to complete the project, providing that extra funding of can be secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. An additional grant request has been discussed with NLHF and a formal bid will be submitted in mid-July. This will be considered in late September 2025.
If approved, the additional NLHF grant with the funding secured by project partners, would enable the project to start working on the “Missing Mile” section of canal between Eastington and Whitminster in 2026, with the target of reconnection at Saul Junction to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the opening of the Stroudwater Canal in 2029.
The funding would mean a new section of canal under the M5 motorway shared with the River Frome and two new locks to control water levels. This would enable investment into a mooring basin, café and car park, for which planning permission has been awarded.
Securing the funds would also improve community connections - the Inland Waterways Association and Canal & River Trust research puts the social value of the restored canal at £2.7m per mile. Completing the final four miles, including the “Missing Mile” of the Stroudwater Canal and towpath would realise more than £10m per year of social value.
Global events, shortages of labour, and rising material costs have impacted the project, meaning there is a need for extra investment for this crucial stretch of canal.
Stroud District Council is co-leading the Cotswold Canals Connected project with The Cotswold Canals Trust, and has so far restored the canal from Thrupp to Eastington. Since SDC and CCT took on leadership of the project in 2008, five miles of canal between Stroud and Stonehouse have been restored, creating a new water habitat for nature, and making a peaceful walking and cycling alternative to the busy adjacent A419. The restoration in Stroud and Stonehouse has resulted in major inward investment and housing too, at more than £100m so far.
The project is supported by a passionate community of more than 500 volunteers, some of whom were seen on BBC TV’s Countryfile recently Countryfile - Stroudwater Canal - BBC iPlayer
Anyone interested in volunteering on the project to restore the Stroudwater Navigation can find out more at cotswoldcanals.org/volunteer/volunteering-opportunities/ and progress can also be followed at www.facebook.com/cotswoldcanalstrust/ and www.facebook.com/cotswoldcanalsconnected
The Strategy and Resources Committee has recommended an additional grant of £1.5m as part of the £4m partner contributions and this will be submitted for Council approval on July 17. To read more about the decision and watch a recording of the meeting, please visit SDC’s website: www.stroud.moderngov.co.uk
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