Stroudwater Navigation's 'missing mile' to be restored

The money from Highways England will see waterway, locks, bridges and wetlands restored

A "missing mile" of canal, near junction 13 of the M5, is to be restored using a £4m grant.

Part of the Stroudwater Navigation was destroyed when the A38/A419 roundabout and M5 were built in the late 1960s, to the west of Stonehouse.

The money from Highways England will see waterway, locks, bridges and wetlands restored.

It is part of an ongoing £23m project to reconnect the Cotswold Canals System to the national canal network.

'Army of volunteers'

A five-mile section of canal between Thrupp and Stonehouse has already been restored and work is under way to connect that to the inland waterway network at Saul.

The Cotswold Canals Trust aims to restore it as a fully-navigable route from the River Severn to the River Thames.

Jim White, from Cotswold Canals Trust, said the work would "enhance the cultural heritage and historic features near to the M5 and A38".

"Much of the work will be done by an army of volunteers," he said.

"Cotswold Canals Trust estimates that the wider Cotswold Canals Connected project, to which this scheme is linked, will use approximately 700,000 hours of volunteer work and support new apprenticeships through contractors."