The incredible mega-project to rebuild UK canal 110 years after it was abandoned

A project has been launched to restore a canal stretching 112km in the UK. The canal, which runs from Melksham in Wiltshire and past Swindon towards Abingdon-on-Thames, was opened in 1810 before being abandoned in 1914.

In 1977, a group was formed to restore the canal, which became formally known as the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust (WBCT) 20 years later. The registered charity is now appealing for volunteers, including engineers and support team members, to come forward to help rebuild the canal. The WBCT said that by restoring the canal and towpath, the 380,000 people who live in towns along the route will benefit from economic and leisure boosts.

WBCT CEO Mike Gibbin told : “The communities really appreciate the towpaths and the activities on the water, cafes that get set up, that sort of thing that you get in and around canals. It’s a great opportunity for the towns and villages that we pass through to regenerate.”

The WBCT currently has around 6.5km in water, including around 30 locks, and 24km of towpath under its management. The rest is private land or owned by the local councils.

Mr Gibbin added: “So, from a civil engineering perspective, there is limitless work. There’s also a lot of planning work, as you can imagine.

“From that civil engineering and engineering perspective, it allows people who really like the heritage side of it to keep those traditional skills alive and be something which is very valuable.”

The WBCT has four major engineering projects and 50 smaller projects that will progress until 2050. However, the charity, which already has 2,500 members and 300 active volunteers, is after reinforcements.

WBCT interim engineering director Ron Crook said: “Our priority at the moment is to seek applicants for a number of volunteer civil engineering and specialist engineering posts. We have restructured the engineering team. This is now made up of six sub teams, five of which concentrate on individual lengths of the canal, the sixth being a specialist technical support team.”

He added that the organisation will “turn nobody away” but being local is desirable. Mr Crook explained: “We don’t want people traipsing from one end to the other, but Swindon and Chippenham are fairly central so I’m looking for lots of people in that area.”

He continued: “The way we present it to people is we say ‘you do what you want to do’. We have people who are doing three or four hours a week and we have people who do 30 to 40 hours a week – it all depends on what they want to get out of it.

“Generally, you find that engineers who work with us might do a day or two a week. We’re a very flexible organisation. A lot of this is done online. Obviously you’ve got to attend the site occasionally, but all of our meetings are held online.”

The major projects

The WBCT hopes to complete four major projects by 2050. The first is the Melksham link on the west end of the canal, which will create a 10km stretch from Melksham to the Kennet and Avon canal.

Meanwhile, on the eastern end, the WBCT wants to link the canal to the River Thames. This will stretch 14km and would be delivered alongside Thames Water’s Abingdon Reservoir.

In the middle of these two is the development of Pewsham Waterside. This area is set to include a brick area, a carpenter’s workshop and a visitor centre.

Finally, the WBCT plans to create a 10km stretch of canal under the M4 between Swindon and Royal Wootton Basset. These four projects have been chosen as they will add the biggest economic benefits.

Find out more about the WBCT’s work and how to get involved .