New canal length takes shape

摘要

In the gloom underneath a supermarket goods delivery yard on the edge of Birmingham, a new canal length is taking shape - but the Lapal Canal Trust needs another £700,000 to turn it into an extension of the national network.After a decade of changing plans for a former industrial site close to where the abandoned Lapal Canal meets the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, construction of a supermarket and student accommodation development is almost complete, with the new Sainsbury's storeopened in early December. As part of the work, the section of Lapal Canal underneath the delivery yard is being built by developers, and the canal's new route through the site has been reserved as a 'greenway'. The plan is to turn this into a canal channel, extending into Selly Oak Park to make an attractive short arm with visitor moorings and turning basin - and to form the first step towards Lapal Canal Trust's eventual aim of complete reopening of the canal.