Access improvements completed on popular canal

Visitors will have better access to a historic canal this summer following pathway improvements and an upgraded wheelchair-friendly picnic area.

Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, was able to make the upgrades to the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at Gilwern thanks to Monmouthshire County Council’s access improvement scheme funded by the UK Government’s shared prosperity fund.

The works are part of the community-led celebrations for this year’s 225th anniversary of the canal, with construction of the waterway starting near Gilwern in 1796.

Anniversary celebrations

David Morgan, development manager for Wales at Glandŵr Cymru, said: “As a charity, we want to make sure that everyone can enjoy our canals, and the improvements to the pathways and picnic site at Gilwern will enable all canal lovers to reap the benefits of spending time by water.

“We’re grateful to Monmouthshire County Council for their support of this project, and of our Brecon 225 anniversary celebrations, which will see us mark this special anniversary for the northern section of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal throughout the year with a series of community events.

Our colleagues and volunteers do a wonderful job in making the canal a fantastic place to be. Their hard work to upgrade this site will offer people a place to relax and enjoy being next to the canal.”

The improvements at Gilwern follow the recent move to secure an emergency supply of water this summer to keep the 35-mile-long Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal topped up for boats and for the benefit of local people and wildlife.

Running dry

The future of the 35-mile canal that wends its way through the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park has been threatened by new legislation which left it at risk of running dry.

The canal’s principal feed of water comes from the Usk River at Brecon with the water then returned to the river once it has travelled along the route.

But new legislation means that Glandŵr Cymru is now required by law to obtain licences to draw water from the river.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has granted licences – but they included conditions which limit the amount of water that can be abstracted.

The Welsh Government sponsored body says its priority is to protect the integrity of the River Usk and the Severn Estuary’s Special Areas of Conservation.

In April, the immediate threat to the water supply was resolved after Welsh Water, which had been demanding a payment to resolve supply issues for the canal, reached an agreement on costs which will ensure supply for the coming year while talks on a longer term solution continue.

A petition set up calling for the future of the water supply for the canal to be debated in the Senedd closed on Sunday, having reached over 13,500 signatures.