Langley Mill: Work starts on long-awaited Cromford Canal restoration

Work has started on a long-awaited restoration of a lost stretch of a historic Derbyshire canal.

Most of the 18th Century Cromford Canal was decommissioned in 1944 and the route was severed by the building of the A610 near Langley Mill in the 1980s.

Volunteers from the Friends of Cromford Canal have spent 20 years planning and fundraising to recreate a 0.8-mile (1.25km) length of the waterway.

They hope to be finished in two years.

Woodland has been cleared and preparatory digging work is under way.

The restoration will open up a new stretch of water and tow path, forming a new section of the Erewash Valley Trail, from Langley Mill Boatyard to Stoney Lane.

The restored section will run under the existing A610 road bridge and will include a new swing bridge and double staircase lock.

A spokesman for the Friends group said: "We are really please to have got going. We've had lottery funding and generous donations from supporters to get us this far.

"The cost of the project is £80,000 but we are doing all the work with volunteer labour so it could be much less, around £40,000.

"It will be a great re-addition to our waterways and one we hope people will really enjoy using."

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