The Canal & River Trust, the charity that is entrusted to care for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales, has announced that improvements works to the canal towpath in Pant are to begin in the next few weeks.
As part of the development phase of the Montgomery canal restoration project, Canal & River Trust have asked the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) to work on towpath improvement works between Pant Bridge (number 88) and Penygarreg Lane. This CRC group will work on vegetation and hedge management, as well as towpath re-instalment over the next few months.
This collaborative approach has proved successful on other CRT restoration projects and it is hoped that the work on this section of the Montgomery canal will be a first step towards its involvement in the wider Heritage Lottery Funded restoration project.
The towpath will be improved in Pant to the canal basin on Penygarreg Lane.
Speaking about the works Sylvia Edwards, Community Development Officer at the Canal & River Trust said there would be opportunities for local residents to get involved and help support the project. She said: “As part of the Montgomery canal restoration project, the Canal & River Trust is planning a range of activities that will involve local communities. Over this spring/summer period, I would like to trial a canal heritage walk from Llanymynech to the Vyrnwy aqueduct as well as a wildlife discovery walk that takes in a navigable section of the canal.
“I would be very interested to hear from local people who have a good knowledge of the canal heritage or canal wildlife and who would be happy to volunteer a couple of hours as walk leaders.”
If you think that you have the necessary skills and knowledge, please get in touch with Sylvia by email in the first instance on sylvia.edwards@canalrivertrust.org.uk.