Lucy Wood reports…
A new wetland area being created as part of the Cotswold Canals Connected scheme is set to attract more wildlife and support tourism.
THE Fromebridge Biodiversity Project focuses on the wetlands area and wildlife ponds between the Stroudwater Canal and River Frome, south of Whitminster. As well as providing new feeding grounds for migratory birds, it is also set to feature a bird hide with a multi-user accessible towpath so everyone can get closer to nature, enjoy the tranquillity of the canal and explore the canal’s heritage.
A planning application has been submitted which also includes the creation of two water vole ponds, a wetlands area, lowering of the River Frome floodbank in two locations, the creation of two flood bunds and the levelling of the canal towpath bank. The project – which will be completed by volunteers from the Cotswold Canals Trust and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust – is being undertaken as part of the wider Cotswold Canals Connected scheme to link a nine-mile stretch of canal between Saul and Thrupp to the national inland waterway network.
Funded by a successful £8.9 million National Heritage Lottery Fund bid and donations from organisations, charitable trusts and private donors, it is the largest canal restoration programme in the country and will create a wildlife corridor along the length of the canal from the Severn Estuary Special Protection Area at Saul through to Brimscombe Port. Fifty-two acres of agricultural land has been acquired specifically to support biodiversity and the environment by creating two new wetlands areas in Fromebridge and south of the River Frome, the application for which was formally approved in June.
Work on the Fromebridge project is expected to start before the end of this year subject to planning approval and raising the funds required. It is one of the key Cotswold Canals Connected environmental projects to reconnect the Stroudwater Canal to the national canal network at Saul Junction (phase 1B).
Stroud District Council and the Cotswold Canals Trust are co-leading it with the Canal Environment Programme, led by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.
Coun Catherine Braun, leader of Stroud District Council, said: “This council is committed to restoration of the canal, promoting tourism and protecting and enhancing our environment, so we are very excited to be part of this project.”
