£1.6m awarded to Canal & River Trust heritage projects

The Canal & River Trust has been awarded over £1.6m in funding for 17 projects across the country.

The funding, which has been awarded via the Heritage Stimulus Fund will help the charity’s work including projects with Hunts Lock on the River Weaver, Sawley Locks 1 and 2 on the River Trent, Diglis Lock 1 where the River Severn meets the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, Soulbury Three Locks on the Grand Union Canal, and Wigan Flight Lock 71 on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which all received grants of over £100,000.

“The canals were built over 200 years ago and are a vital part of our industrial heritage: you can still use the locks, bridges, tunnels and aqueducts, across our 2,000 miles of waterways, that were great feats of engineering in their time,” says Richard Parry, chief executive at the Canal & River Trust. “The grant funding will enable us to carry out important repairs to 17 waterway sites of social and historical importance, much-loved by those who use them and the communities that live alongside.

“This funding will be spent during our annual winter works programme, which is essential to ensure our canals and rivers can continue to provide a valuable resource to the public. We are forecasting a reduction in income of around £20m due to the pandemic and, while we have prioritised our spending to ensure we have a full programme, this funding will be valuable in helping us carry out all our planned works.

“The task of looking after our waterways remains a challenge, one we are committed to as we aim to keep them in good working order for the nation. We are delighted that the importance of our work has been recognised by the government.”

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