Brimscombe Port revamp gets £2m infrastructure boost

The money will allow the basic infrastructure at Brimscombe Port to be carried out

A long-awaited revamp of a Stroud Valley port has been revived with a £2m grant which it is hoped will enable infrastructure work to be carried out.

Stroud District Council will use the grant to build a new canal, canal basin, bridge and access roads.

Chief executive, David Hagg, said: "It's not everything but it enables us to get in some of the basic infrastructure underway."

The hope is to make Brimscombe Port more attractive for private investors.

Mr Hagg added: "It will mean developers will then look and say with that basic infrastructure in the ground that we don't get any return on is being dealt with by the council and Homes and Communities Agency."

The hope is to build new homes, shops and business units at Brimscombe Port

Plans for development were shelved in 2011 due to the economic downturn when only one investor put in a bid to redevelop the site.

Brimscombe Port was used to transport cargo between the narrow barges travelling between the River Thames and Severn.

In 1933, the port closed and later, in the 1960s, the canal and canal basin were both filled and built over with a road.

The canal basin now needs to be reinstated. A new canal section will also be built, along with a bridge over the river and canal to allow access to the A419 from the port.

Work is also needed to reduce flood risk and the bridge, which contains culverts for the river, will need to be redesigned.