Waterways Trust unveils its £500,000 bid for canal revamp

This is the latest glimpse of major £500,000 plans to revamp part of the Shropshire Union Canal in Whitchurch.

Members of the Whitchurch Waterway Trust have released further details of their proposals to extend the canal and create a new basin with moorings.

The proposal will see the current canal arm extended through Chemistry Bridge and into the Country Park via an underpass.

Developers hope it will bring canal boat users nearer to the town centre and become a tourist attraction for Whitchurch.

They estimate construction costs of the basin could reach about £475,000 which would include landscaping, altering car parking and surfacing, and excavating soil.

Latest plans can be viewed and commented on via the website www.whitchurchwaterway.org.uk and a full planning application is expected to be submitted after the trust's AGM on March 21.

David Torrens, trust member, said: "In the period from February 9 for about two weeks the plans and documents are being technically reviewed by British Waterways and some experts who have kindly agreed to assist us.

"We are still accepting comments and it is still fairly easy for the design to be changed.

"The more comments and suggestions we receive the better chance we have to develop a design that is acceptable to everyone.

"In the weeks prior to the AGM on March 21 an exhibition will be set up in the Heritage Centre using the next revision of the drawings.

"We hope by that time the design will be sufficiently resolved for us to make our planning application very soon after the AGM."

The draft design and access statement says: "The proposal is a stage in a long-term aim to bring the canal back into the centre of Whitchurch.

"It has the support of the town council and is an item on the Whitchurch Parish Plan.

"It will provide an attractive addition to the Country Park and enhance the local area. It will assist in promoting tourism to Whitchurch town centre.

"The final design will screen the basin from nearby property to maintain a level of privacy and security."