Historic canal towpath in Loughborough officially reopened

Part of the improvements include widening and resurfacing the towpath making it suitable for year-round use.

A section of historic canal towpath in Loughborough has been officially reopened after work to make it better for walkers, cyclists and visiting boaters.

The Canal & River Trust and Loughborough Town Deal worked together to improve a 2km stretch of the River Soar towpath running between Moor Lane Bridge and Belton Lane.

The revamped section now provides a green, traffic-free route through the town, allowing people to spend time by water on the popular route to work, university and the shops. 

The improvements have been funded by UK Government through Loughborough Town Deal, which awarded a £885,000 grant.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, chair of Loughborough Town Deal, said: “I am delighted to see another Town Deal backed project being completed.

“The improvements to the historic canal in Loughborough will be enjoyed by local communities and visitors to the area for many years to come and will form part of the Town Deal’s legacy.

“The Town Deal has already helped to regenerate part of the town centre, create the Careers and Enterprise Hub, expand free wi-fi in the town, create an augmented reality heritage trail and support the expansion of SportPark in Loughborough. The completion of the canal project is another important milestone for us.

“I would like to thank the Canal & River Trust for all their hard work and congratulate them for bringing much needed improvements to Loughborough’s waterways.”

Part of the improvements include widening and resurfacing the towpath making it suitable for year-round use by walkers, cyclists and those with buggies. 

As well as widening and resurfacing the towpath, the project has installed 24 additional moorings for visiting boats and strengthened a 100-metre stretch of canal bank between Moor Lane and Little Moor Lane.

Alan Leather, partnerships manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “As a charity it’s so important that we work with other organisations to keep our historic canals alive. This project is a fantastic example of how we can work together to make canals more welcoming and attractive not only to local people but also visiting boaters, which bring important economic benefits to the town.”