The historic Stroudwater Canal has been awarded £6.46m by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore vital sections of the waterway.
A major part of the project includes reinstating the ‘missing mile’, which will involve taking the canal beneath the M5 motorway, reconnecting the currently landlocked Stroudwater Navigation with the national inland waterways network.
The project, led by Stroud District Council in partnership with the Cotswold Canals Trust will create a new fully accessible towpath connecting Stroud to Gloucester and Sharpness, as well as creating a vital wildlife corridor linking habitats from the east to the west.
A programme of community activity will broaden participation and improve physical access to the canal, including new canal-side spaces for communities to gather. Canal heritage will be taken into community settings to extend its reach beyond the waterway and the Stroudwater Navigation Archive – thought to be the oldest canal archive in the world – will offer possibilities to tell the story of the canal in new and exciting ways.
Young people will play a key role in the project, contributing through volunteering opportunities, engaging with canal heritage in the classroom and active involvement in decision-making on the future of the canal.
The investment will bring huge benefits to the region, including reconnecting local communities in the Stroud Valleys, Stonehouse, Gloucester, and Severn Vale with one of England’s important industrial mill areas. It will support tourism, unlock economic opportunities and enhance the natural environment through conservation and biodiversity initiatives – bringing new life to a historic waterway and creating a vibrant, sustainable future.
The Environment Programme, led by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, has already delivered major improvements to the canal’s natural surroundings. These include creating a wildlife corridor along the canal with new wetlands areas, the restoration of a traditional orchard and four kilometres of new hedgerows.
Over the last four years, over 750 volunteers have worked on the restoration of the canal, supported biodiversity and wildlife improvements and facilitated community activities – providing a total of 93,600 volunteer hours.
This announcement follows the launch of the recent Canal & River Trust report, The Vital Connector for Nature and People, which demonstrates how the UK’s canal network serves as a vital urban connector, supporting nature and offering free open access for communities – providing a unique opportunity to address the challenges of biodiversity loss, low nature connectedness and high wellbeing inequalities.
Taryn Nixon OBE, Trustee and Chair of the England, London & South Committee, Heritage Fund, said: “The restoration of the Stroudwater Canal is a powerful example of heritage literally connecting places, people and nature for the benefit of the future. Thanks to National Lottery players, this ambitious, strategic project will not only revive globally important industrial heritage, and create a connected nature corridor, but will unlock lasting benefits for local economies and peoples’ health and wellbeing. We’re proud to invest in a vision that celebrates heritage while shaping a sustainable future for generations to come.”
Chloe Turner, Stroud District Council Leader, said: “We’re enormously grateful for the ongoing support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund to the Cotswold Canals Connected project. The canal restoration is a key project in our Council Plan, with cross-party support for the many benefits for Stroud district’s communities, heritage, nature and local economy that the restored canal will bring.”
The canal will celebrate its 250th opening anniversary in 2029. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has to date awarded £9,799,000 to the Cotswold Canals Connected project. Today’s announcement is a further grant of £6.4million which brings total funding to over £16m.
The Cotswold Canals Connected Project is being delivered by a partnership of organisations, including Stroud District Council, Cotswold Canals Trust, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Gloucestershire County Council, and the Stroud Valleys Canal Company.
