Dudley Canals awarded £100k boost

Bosses at Dudley Canal Trust are celebrating after receiving the latest grant fromThe Garfield Weston Foundation.

The money will go towards financing a new visitor and heritage centre and construction of the new building is set to start before the end of the year.

The Todd's End site off Birmingham New Road will house a new education and visitors centre called The Portal.

This will provide facilities for schools, community groups and the general public to discover the Black Country's canal heritage and the importance of the waterways and mines.

Bosses say the total cost of the redevelopment project is expected to be £3 million and it is planned the building will open next Easter.

Mike Duley, Chair of the Project Steering Group for the Portal Project, said the latest grant will make a vital difference to the project.

He said: "This latest contribution to our project, from the Garfield Weston Foundation, is a vital addition to our fundraising."

Mr Duley added: "The Portal would simply not be possible without our generous funders; it is thanks to them that we look forward to welcoming visitors to our new building next year."

The Portal will enhance the connection between the Dudley Canal and Limestone Mines and the Castle Hill Development Project including the Black County Living Museum, giving visitors to both attractions new opportunities to explore both sites.

Dudley Canal Trust was established in 1970 to protect and preserve the network of underground canal tunnels beneath the region and the £3m project will also see a new swing bridge linking the canalside attraction to the Black Country Living Museum and a covered area for people embarking on boat trips.

There will also be new car parking and more volunteering opportunities for people to get involved in protecting, conserving and learning about the heritage of the area.

Previous funding to improve the visitor facilities has been provided by The Heritage Lottery Fund which gave the project a £989,200 grant and £1m grant from the European Regional Development Fund earlier this year.

It comes as a major £10.1m regeneration scheme is under way at Castle Hill to improve links between the canal tunnels, museum and Dudley Zoo.

Land between the museum and the zoo is being transformed with a new car park, link roads and new zoo entrance being created.

Around 75,000 people visit the canal side attraction every year and bosses hope the new centre will increase this number to more than 90,000 over the next five years.