£1.5m Pontcysyllte Aqueduct plan to attract more tourists

Visitor numbers have improved at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct since it was awarded World Heritage status in 2009

More than £1.5m could be spent to attract tourists to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage Site in the Trevor Basin near Wrexham.

A masterplan looking at the next three to 10 years has been drawn up by consultants commissioned by Wrexham council and the Canal and Rivers Trust.

Ideas include a new café and visitor viewing platform, as well as extended car parking facilities.

Councillors are to discuss how the £1,580,904 plan will be funded.

At a meeting on Wednesday, they will focus on the proposal to introduce charging for on-site car and coach parking and use of toilet facilities.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct facts

• It was constructed under the instruction of Thomas Telford between 1796 and 1805

• The cast iron trough holds 1.5m litres of water from Llangollen Canal

• It is supported by 18 piers and 19 arches.

The MP for Clwyd South, Susan Elan Jones, has welcomed the report.

She said: "What's vital now is that we do everything we can to increase the length of time people stay around here."

Visitor numbers have increased year on year since the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was awarded World Heritage status in 2009.

However, the report plan says the length of visitors's stay was less than an hour on average.