Canal stretch re-opening to cost £50m

A £50m plan to re-open a stretch of the Lancaster Canal in to the Lake District has been unveiled today (Friday).

The project would involve tunnelling under the M6, which blocked the canal in three places when it was opened in the 1960s.

If the plan is approved up to 200,000 boat trips a year would be expected, along with the construction of new marinas and visitor centres.

The restoration project would stretch from Carnforth, Lancashire to Kendal in Cumbria.

Engineers have developed the plan on behalf of a number of groups that are led by the canal's Northern Reaches Restoration Group.

Up to 10km of the canal will be re-opened under the plan, if the funds can be raised.