The dreams of canal restoration pioneers are realised
The Kennet & Avon Canal will finally achieve full Cruiseway status from April 18, 2011—realising the dream of the countless enthusiasts who fought firstly to prevent the closure of the canal and then to work to bring the canal back to full use.
Despite spending £29m of Heritage Lottery Fund money on the canal the holy grail of those early pioneers was not achieved, but after several false starts British Waterways recently went ahead with an application for a ministerial order to reclassify the 'remainder' sections of the Kennet & Avon Canal to make them 'cruising waterways' despite the objections of two influential organisations.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman has now announced that she has approved the application.
What a superb epitaph to those stalwart volunteers, many of whom are no longer with us, they fought and won to get our beautiful canal restored and open for us to use today.
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