£1.3 million grant refused for 'historically significant' canal site near Telford

Members of the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust have been working for some years to try to reopen Wappenshall Wharf, near Telford, and bring it back into use.

The trust has been turned down in its bid for the grant, but bosses say they remain optimistic and think they will be more successful in the future.

Despite rejecting the bid the Heritage Lottery Fund committee said it appreciated importance of the project.

A letter to the trust stated: "The committee recognise the rarity and significance of the site and its building.

"We recognise the need to conserve this nationally significant example of our industrial heritage and to find a long term beneficial use.

"We also recognise the commitment, knowledge, experience and skills of the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust. We understand the progress that the trust has made to raise the necessary funds and build partnerships."

Bernie Jones, chairman of the trust, said they will look at what they can do to improve their case for future rounds of funding.

He said: "People think the lottery is a bottomless pit of money.

"The whole world is turning to the National Lottery, and in our case the Heritage Lottery Fund, to fund everything.

"The reasons we've been given is about our business plan and long-term sustainability. We've got a meeting for July where we'll hear from their team about what our options are now, what we can do about it and when we can resubmit a bid."

Mr Jones said he was staying optimistic, and that he hoped they had better luck in the future.

He said: "It's taken us nearly four years to get to this point. It's taken a lot of hard work from a lot of people.

"It's a competitive situation. You don't have a clue who else you're up against. If you've got other exceedingly good projects, the lottery only has a certain amount of money – there's someone that's unlucky.

"It means it's a lottery in every sense when you get to this stage.

"You can have a perfectly good project that doesn't end up passing muster just because other projects that you're up against are too strong.

"After putting so much effort into it, we're not going to let go now. It's too important. it's so important that I wouldn't be happy if I hadn't given my all trying to rescue it."

It has not all been bad news for the trust. They will receive the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service later this year.

The trust was recognised for "restoring part of our industrial heritage, providing volunteering, education and recreation for all."

Mr Jones said it was a "testimony to the hard work and dedication" of all the trust's volunteers.