More than £700,000 will be spent on improving the canal towpath between Barlaston and Aston in an ambitious project to encourage cycling and attract tourists.
Stafford Borough Council will contribute £261,870 to the ‘Trent and Mersey Canal Towpath Improvement Project’ this year, with the county council contributing £458,000 over the following two years. The funding means that the whole 7.5km stretch of towpath will be improved.
The project would include towpath resurfacing work between Aston and Stone town centre, then the stretch from Meaford Lock Bridge number 98 through to Bridge 101 and on to the Plume of Feathers pub in Barlaston (Bridge 103). It would include improvements to the towpath in the worst condition opposite the former Meaford Power Station site, which is very uneven and in wet conditions extremely muddy.
A report to Stafford Borough Council’s Cabinet said: “Cabinet has agreed in principle to support improvements to the Trent and Mersey Canal towpath between Aston by Stone and Barlaston, as this route formed part of National Cycle Network Route 5 (NCN5). Such improvements would open access to the Barlaston Downs Banks and would attract visitors to Stone and Barlaston. In addition, an improved towpath would allow workers living in and around Stone the choice to cycle to Trentham Lakes employment area, which lies only a few miles to the north.”
The county council will provide project and contract management for the project, with the work undertaken by its third party contractor Enterprise. The project will get under way in the autumn and is set to work around the boating seasons over three financial years, being completed early in 2015.
British Waterways has invested nearly £1 million over the last four years in major works to the canal from Aston to Barlaston, including new lock gates at Meaford, towpath upgrades through Stone and a partial rebuild of bridges. British Waterways plan to invest a further £137,000 over the next three years for similar works along this stretch.
- Aston
- Barlaston
- canal
- cycling
- Stafford Borough Council
- Staffordshire County Council
- towpath
- Trent and Mersey Canal
- Trent and Mersey Canal Towpath Improvement Project
6 comments
Chris Tibbitts
Fantastic news, a real boost for this “Canal Town”. More people use the canal than the gym, park and bridleways put together from where i see it and the mud/dust track is not much use for most of the year. I cant wait to ride or walk into Stone without getting filthy! Brill. Just wish they would go as far as Sandon so we could get to the Dog and Doublet and the Greyhound more easily, but hey ho! Lets hope they do a proper job with plenty of litter bins and places to sit and admire the view. Really pleased about this.
Cath Eccles
That’s brill -I ride with my daughter to Barlaston. We get on the canal from the railway which is great but as soon as you hit the Meaford tow path it’s like being on a BMX track although I must say my daughter likes that path better-the muddier the better
jvictor7
Hi Cath. No surprise that your daughter loves it! But I’m with you – it really needs some attention, so this funding is brilliant news 🙂
Nozzer77
Fantastic News!. I love running to barlaston along the canal but the tow path is terrible (especially with this british summer we are having!)
jvictor7
It’s worse than ever at the mo isn’t it? June’s rain has certainly made it that way!
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