On January 9, 2023, Rich Harrison and Katie Woodroffe of the Canal and River Trust gave an online presentation on the Montgomery Canal Levelling Up Project. A video recording of the presentation can be viewed here and the slides used in the presentation can be seen here.
Background to the project
The 4.4-mile section of the Montgomery Canal between Llanymynech and Arddleen has not been navigable since the 1930s and the project aims to restore the channel so that navigation will eventually be possible. While this work will not enable this section to connect to other restored sections of the canal, it will see the completion of a vital part of the overall project. The project will build two new bridges. At Walls Bridge (no. 93), this will consist of a new bridge over the canal that will allow the current road crossing to be removed. At Williams Bridge (no. 96), there will be a replacement for the original bridge which complies with modern traffic regulations. The 7 km section of channel will be dredged in a manner that increases overall biodiversity and ensures the survival of rare aquatic plant species. Work on dredging the canal feeder has already started. Lastly, the project will create three offline, open-water nature reserves with a hydrological link to the canal, constructed to a similar depth of around 1.5 metres and graded to produce varied water depths which will encourage ecological variety.
