Swindon Borough Council and the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding on canal restoration, Swindon24 reported on 24 March 2026. It covered work towards a waterway and green corridor linking Swindon with Royal Wootton Bassett.
The agreement was not legally binding and committed neither side to funding or construction.
How much of the canal was in place?
Restored sections existed at Mouldon Hill Country Park in the north and at Wichelstowe in the south, and Rushey Platt had also been brought back into use. They did not yet form one continuous route.
The Trust's ambition ran to 2050. It included reconnecting Swindon to Royal Wootton Bassett and linking the Kennet & Avon Canal at Semington with the River Thames at Abingdon.
The main obstacles named in the report were finding a workable route beneath the M4, paying for large-scale restoration, and building new sections where the original line had been lost, particularly near the town centre.
Mike Gibbin, chief executive of the Trust, said: "There are still major challenges ahead and we can only continue this momentum by working together with the Council".
Councillor Junab Ali, chair of the council's Build a Better Swindon committee, said the agreement would help unlock the canal's "full potential."
What did each side agree to do?
The council was to include the canal in its future planning framework, including the emerging Local Plan, consult the Trust on developments affecting the route and support funding bids where it could. The Trust was to share detailed plans, maintain existing sections and set out the canal's benefits. The report said restoration had been progressing in phases for years.
Source: Swindon24.
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