Plans to restore the long-abandoned Cromford Canal have been boosted by the announcement of a £76,000 grant from Natural England.
Although the money awarded to Derbyshire County Council is mainly targeted at improvements for nature conservation rather than navigation, including bankside vegetation trimming and clearance of the non-native Himalayan Balsam so as to encourage native plants and animals, it will also include restoring a water control sluice and clearing Gregory’s Tunnel. The Friends of the Cromford Canal, who are working towards the long-term aim of reopening the canal all the way to Cromford (and who hadn’t even been made aware that Derbyshire were applying for the grant), have nonetheless welcomed the award as it helps to preserve the surviving lengths of the canal. Chairman Matthew Rogers said that “any grant for regular work is incredibly beneficial”.
