Montgomery Canal Conservation Management Strategy (1.2MB PDF)

The Montgomery Canal Partnership’s mission statement, first agreed in 2000, is:
“to restore the Montgomery Canal as a flagship model of sustainable canal restoration with a strategic focus on rural
regeneration. To protect the canal’s unique environment and heritage through research, management and excellence in
design. To increase access for all through interpretation with the promotion of tourism and educational use”.
This statement is founded on the belief that that the long term future of the canal, is as a valued, shared resource.
Sustainable navigation and boats are an integral part of a living, working canal. The built heritage and natural heritage are
intricately entwined, and both rely on the support of the local community for their future.
The key elements of the vision for the future of the Montgomery Canal are:
• A community resource, valued and used by all
• A corridor of opportunity that will provide a driving force for rural regeneration
• A restoration to navigation that respects values and enhances the unique nature of the Montgomery
Canal and its surroundings
• Has sustainability at the heart of all management and development.
There has been overwhelming support for the restoration of the canal, and this strategy is intended to map a way
forward, and provide practical solutions that will resolve the previous tensions between different interests. This has
required a willingness to share and understand the values and interests of others.
The Montgomery Canal Partnership has worked hard to develop that understanding, both within the Partnership and in
wider circles, and offers a shared way forward based on the overarching theme of sustainable restoration. The proposals
in this document go wider than many conservation plans, for it incorporates issues of economic and social benefit from
the beginning. These are issues that are important to local residents, a group of absolutely key stakeholders for the
future. It also ensures that the conservation management of the canal is both at the heart of its future management, and
provides over-arching principles for all other uses.
An objective for the Partnership is to use this document as a means to unlock the major external funds necessary to
achieve the aims and policies within the strategy. It is based on a balance that recognises and protects conservation
interests, and seeks a community led process.
Motorised boats do have a detrimental effect on the rare aquatic plants in the canal, but this strategy proposes the
creation of a range of new wetland areas, adjacent to the canal, which will provide full compensation.
This solution builds on and further develops the pioneering agreement in the 1980s, which led to the creation of a
number of existing reserves, including Aston, constructed by volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group. The
reserves will provide a further range of education and recreation opportunities and will require partnership with local
landowners.
A further challenge of the restoration is the large number of road crossings, especially along the A483. The major costs
involved mean that the continued restoration of the canal is likely to be undertaken in stages.
The first priority is to re-connect the navigable length of canal at Welshpool, through Llanymynech, to join up with the
northern section at Gronwen Wharf, near Maesbury, and thus to the national network. The economic impact from this
section stands to be great, as restoring eight miles of canal will release a further eleven miles which is currently underused.
Restoration of the southern section will need to follow at a later phase or phases. Access to funding will depend on
demonstrating the success of phase 1; a success that must demonstrate that our vision of a vibrant canal, a canal which
protects the values of everyone, is a deliverable reality.
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