The Canal and River Trust charity has secured initial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop plans to restore and reopen the Grade II listed Stainton Aqueduct on the Lancaster Canal near Sedgwick, Cumbria, the Trust said today.
HLF’s initial development funding award of £41,000 will enable us to work alongside the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership (LCRP) on a second stage application to be submitted in November. If successful, the bid will unlock £1.5m from HLF towards a total project value of £2.2m.
The project will fund repairs to Stainton Aqueduct, which was badly damaged during storms Desmond and Eva in December 2015. It will also help to develop other key sites along the Lancaster Canal, such as Hincaster Tunnel and Sedgewick Aqueduct.
The Grade ll listed Stainton Aqueduct was built in 1819 and carries the Lancaster Canal over Stainton Beck. Prior to the damage caused during extreme rainfall in the December 2015 storms, the aqueduct was in good condition.
Emergency stabilization works costing £250,000 were completed onsite by the Trust in early 2016.