Restoring canal at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings a future 'priority', says Historic England
The organisation leading the redevelopment of Shrewsbury's Flaxmill Maltings said preserving a historic canal route is a future "priority".
Historic England has invested more than £250,000 into restoring the former Shrewsbury Canal, which runs alongside the site in Ditherington.
The public body said funding issues were stopping it from rebuilding the canal as part of its Flaxmill redevelopment, but that preparations such as removing contaminated soil were underway to make the job easier in future.
It comes after the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust urged Historic England to undertake the restoration as part of it multi-million pound regeneration plans to build 120 houses and flats on the site.
Tamsin Foster, of Historic England said: "We appreciate that there is local support for re-instating the line of the former canal, which once ran through the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings site.
"The decision to build the 1797 flax mill at this specific location in Shrewsbury was made in large part because of the canal’s proximity and it was a crucial part of the wider site.
"Preserving the remaining line of the former canal has always been a priority for us in regenerating the site.
Cycle route
"In our plans we are ensuring that the former canal is marked and celebrated and have invested more than £250,000 to restore its line, including removing buildings, concrete and contaminated waste.
"Until the canal can be fully restored, it will be transformed into an area of green landscaping with a pedestrian and cycle route, giving local people the opportunity to access and enjoy it.
"Together our current and future works will safeguard the canal line’s future, enabling it to one day be fully reinstated more easily and inexpensively.”
Historic England added that its current focus is restoring the four additional buildings at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings.
The full restoration of Shrewsbury Canal would form part of a much larger project, extending along the whole length of the canal and the major highways that currently obstruct it.
Meanwhile, the line of the former canal and towpath on the Flaxmill site will be landscaped and serve as a footpath and cycleway into the area, linking to the surrounding cycle network as part of sustainable transport proposals.
