Landlocked canal through former Gloucestershire rubbish tip to open

Cutting through a former landfill site, the canals concrete retaining walls are embedded with rubbish, old shoes and plastic

A new 330m (1,080ft) stretch of canal in Gloucestershire, cut out of a 1970s refuse tip, is to be opened next week.

A temporary dam, currently holding back a 1.5m (4ft) wall of water, is due to be removed from a stretch of canal at Capel's Mill near Stroud.

The £3m scheme, linking Bowbridge and Stroud, has been described as "one of the most challenging" on the canal.

Dave Marshall, from Stroud District Council, said despite being landlocked it was a "massive missing link".

The new 1.7m (5.6ft) deep concrete channel links existing stretches of canal between Stroud town centre, south east towards Brimscombe.

A boat would have to be brought in by road to access the new stretch of waterway

But, according to Mr Marshall, despite being "in water" the existing stretches are silted up and "not navigable".

"We always knew that what we're restoring at Capel's Mill would be landlocked," he said.

"At the moment a boat would have to be brought in by car to use it.

"But this is a massive missing link. It's easy to dredge a stretch of canal but it's a huge engineering challenge to build a canal though a rubbish tip."

With a bypass now running on the original route of the waterway, the new channel at Capel's Mill had to be built under a railway viaduct and though the town's former refuse tip.

"The hillside is comprised mainly of rubbish," said Mr Marshall.

"Concrete bored piles were driven through landfill rubbish and you can see the remains of the rubbish set in the concrete."

The scheme is part of an ambitious Cotswold Canals restoration project aimed at reconnecting the River Severn with the River Thames.