Prince of Wales to visit Kennet & Avon Canal

As part of a weekend of community celebrations marking the completion of 50 years of restoration on the Kennet & Avon Canal, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Patron of The Waterways Trust, is to visit the Kennet & Avon Canal on Friday 23 May 2003.

The Prince will begin his visit to the canal at Bradford on Avon Wharf. Here he will be the guest of The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, the charity founded over 40 years ago to restore the then-closed Kennet & Avon Canal to full navigation from Reading to Bristol. His Royal Highness will visit The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s new shop, see a display about the restoration of the canal, meet volunteers and unveil a plaque commemorating the opening of their new fundraising shop.

The Prince of Wales will also visit Caen Hill Lock Flight in Devizes where he will join a public picnic event, including a boat gathering, jazz band and tea-room refreshments. He will take a short trip on a narrowboat, meet people who regularly enjoy the waterway including cyclists, boaters, anglers and walkers and unveil a plaque commemorating his visit.

The Prince will then attend a VIP reception hosted by the Kennet & Avon Canal Partnership, comprising British Waterways, The Kennet & Avon Trust, riparian local authorities and the Association of Canal Enterprises.

Although the waterway reopened to navigation in 1990, a massive injection of funding was needed to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of the volunteers and enthusiasts who campaigned tirelessly for its complete restoration.

In 1996 The Partnership was awarded £25million by the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a five-year £29million repair programme to complete the restoration of the canal - making it sustainable, operational and accessible for the enjoyment of future generations. This project was completed in December 2002.

At the reception His Royal Highness will meet volunteers and professionals involved in the restoration of the canal.

Brian Oram, Chairman of the Kennet & Avon Canal Partnership, said: "We are delighted to welcome The Prince of Wales to the Kennet & Avon Canal to start our weekend of celebrations. Nearly 50 years of restoration have preserved this wonderful rural waterway so that it can continue to bring tremendous social, economic and environmental benefits to the communities it connects for the next 200 years."

Derek Langslow, British Waterways Board Director, added: "The restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal has been a catalyst for rural regeneration, generating some £28million a year locally and supporting 2,600 full time jobs along the waterway. As well as preserving the structures and buildings that make up the waterway, the restoration has paid particular attention to its wildlife riches, ensuring the habitats and diverse ecology the Kennet & Avon Canal supports are conserved for the benefit of all.

"It is one of eight major projects completed last year by British Waterways and its partners. These restorations have secured an extra 220 miles of navigable inland waterway across the country, bringing widespread public benefits to the people who live, work or spend their leisure time on them. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is a great supporter of the waterways and after next Friday’s visit to the Kennet & Avon Canal, he will have visited three of the eight completed projects, including the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire."

The Prince of Wales will also visit Crofton Pumping Station, on the Kennet & Avon Canal close to Hungerford. The Pumping Station, with its distinctive brick chimney now restored to its original height of 82ft, houses the oldest steam-powered beam engine in the world still operational in its original building. His Royal Highness will be the private guest of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust and will meet volunteers involved in the restoration and the running of the historic Pumping Station.