KENDAL Town Council money previously earmarked for the Lancaster Canal Northern Reaches Project could be put back into general coffers.

A total amount of £15,000 has been held for use by the Canal Trust for the project to re-open 14 miles of waterway between Canal Head, Kendal, and Tewitfield.

But with the committee still unable to submit a planning application to make use of the money, it is now up for debate whether the cash should be transferred back into general council use.

Supporting the idea, Councillor Graham Vincent said: "Keeping money in a designated account and not using it makes me very uncomfortable."

The idea was put forward by at a Kendal Town Council meeting earlier this evening.

The project to re-open the stretch of canal began in the 1960s but efforts were strengthened in the 1990s by the formation of the Northern Reaches Restoration Group.

But the group has been unable to put forward a planning application and the money has not been used.

The council have now set themselves a four-month deadline. They will make their decision after the Canal Trust's quarterly meeting in April.