Canal works in running for award

PLANS to kick-start the renaissance of the popular Union Canal have been shortlisted for a prestigious national waterways award.

The Edinburgh Union Canal Strategy has been nominated in the strategy and masterplanning category of the 2012 Waterways Renaissance Awards.

The awards, run by the Waterways Trust, reward exceptional projects that have turned inland waterways into desirable places for living, learning and leisure.

The Canal Strategy is the result of partnership work between the city council and Scottish Canals.

John Bury, head of planning for the council, said: “A lot of detailed planning and consultation went into producing the strategy and it’s a great honour for this work to be recognised.

“Ultimately we hope this strategy will bring about the development of the canal so that more people from across the city, and beyond, can appreciate and enjoy its many facilities and benefit from its beauty as well as the economic potential it provides.”