British Waterways is set to commence a £575,000 access improvement project on the Erewash Canal Corridor after securing funding from the East Midlands Development Agency's (emda's) Waterways Regeneration Fund.

The project will deliver for the first time, a Community and Visitor Access Strategy for the entire length of the canal that stretches from Trent Lock near Long Eaton to Langley Mill.

Due to start in the spring and be completed in 2010, the project will also see £450,000 invested in access improvements and the restoration of disused former industrial buildings and land.

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Research, commissioned by emda, into the impact and importance of waterways across the East Midlands, found that inland waterways projects can significantly benefit an area’s economy. The study found that major regeneration benefits are associated with waterway developments, such as:

• The creation of new job opportunities, both in the short term from the construction during the regeneration and in the long term from new businesses created.
• Stimulation of commercial and residential markets.
• Improvement of waterway environments by re-utilising previously vacant and underused sites generating improved quality of life, tourism and green transport options.

British Waterways hopes that this initial investment will help to increase the number of visitors accessing this valued natural and heritage resource and mark the beginning of the next stage of the canal's development.

(JM)