|  | 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 £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 £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.  | Longden-upon-Tern Aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford, is the oldest of its type left in the world |
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 £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." |
