Background

When a number of canal enthusiasts got together in 1968 to form the Shropshire Union Canal Society their immediate aim was to protect the Shrewsbury & Newport canals, which although legally abandoned for over 20 years were still largely intact, from impending piecemeal sale.  This it was felt would inevitably mean that parts of the canals would be filled in and structures destroyed and that any hope of restoring them to navigation would be gone for ever.

At that time the expansion of the navigable canal network was not a popular concept and in their aim they were unsuccessful.  Their fears appeared to be justified.  The Society moved its prime concern to other parts of the Shropshire Union system, notably the Montgomery Canal, whilst much of route of the canal from Norbury Junction to Shrewsbury was sold off to neighbouring landowners.

Despite the ravages of nature and of man on the canal over the intervening years very little, apart from in Shrewsbury, has been built on the line of the canal.  It is not too late to restore navigation into the heart of Shropshire.  In other parts of the country communities have seen the benefits to be gained from canal restoration, in many cases of canals that have been abandoned for far longer than the Shrewsbury & Newport.  Many have gone through the stage of looking like they were attempting the impossible. But they are now close to achieving that "impossible dream" and with the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals we could be doing the same. This will be a long-term project which will involve major investment but would bring new life, new recreational opportunities and new, environment-friendly business to the countryside, towns and villages between Norbury Junction and Shrewsbury.

To promote restoration The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust was formed in 2000 to which interested parties and individuals can belong in order to demonstrate commitment and work together to ensure that the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals are no longer just a dotted line on a map but a living and vibrant waterway for the 21^st Century.