Trust volunteers hope to restore off-road route

Tony Higgins said they had a "hatful of people" willing to do the work

A volunteer group said it wants to re-establish a historic off-road public route leading in and out of Hereford.

The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust (H&GCT) said restoring the link from Aylestone Park to the transport hub at the railway station, which is currently being built, would be a good fit with the city's transport plans.

The quarter-mile long tunnel is now largely filled with soil and industrial waste.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said it could "make a positive contribution to sustainable transport links across the city", adding the authority would continue to assist the trust in developing the plans.

"We would do the actual work ourselves," said Tony Higgins, H&GCT's membership secretary.

"We have a hatful of people who want to get down there and make a start."

The eastern end of the Aylestone Tunnel

Where the route passes through industrial and retail estates, the trust would need to negotiate with the owners.

"We would only need a small strip," added Mr Higgins.

The group also wants to restore the canal itself between the Aylestone Park section and the eastern end of the tunnel.

"A walkway would be a win in the meantime," said Mr Higgins.

"As a canal trust, we have to believe."

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This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.