AN historic structure left in a perilous state after being hit by a seven-foot high wall of floodwater has received initial funding towards its repair.

Monies have been secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop plans to restore and re-open the Grade II listed Stainton Aqueduct on the Lancaster Canal, near Sedgwick.

HLF’s initial development funding award of £41,000 will enable the Canal & River Trust charity to work alongside the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership (LCRP) on a second stage application to be submitted in November.

If successful, the bid will unlock £1.5m from HLF towards a total project value of £2.2m.

The project will not only see repairs carried out to the aqueduct, which was badly damaged during storms Desmond and Eva in December 2015, but will also help develop other key sites along the canal, such as

Hincaster Tunnel. New educational and volunteering opportunities will also be promoted along the waterway as part of the partnership’s Lancaster Canal Towpath Trail project.

Nick Smith, enterprise manager at the Canal & River Trust, said: “This initial grant is great news. We can

now work hard on a second stage application that could enable to restore and reopen the aqueduct.

"In addition, we are working with Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership to help realise our aspirations for

wider heritage regeneration activity on Lancaster Canal ahead of its bicentenary in 2019.”

Helen Moriarty, project officer for Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership, said: “We look forward to

continuing to work with the Canal & River Trust as we breathe new life into this waterway through the

Lancaster Canal Towpath Trail project.

"The canal has great untapped potential as a regional visitor and tourism destination and a successful stage two HLF bid would make a significant difference.”

The Grade ll listed Stainton Aqueduct was built in 1819 and carries the Lancaster Canal, cared for by the

Canal & River Trust, over Stainton Beck. Prior to the damage caused during extreme rainfall in the

December 2015 storms, the aqueduct was in good condition.

Emergency stabilisation works costing £250,000 were completed onsite by Canal & River Trust in early 2016. However, these were not sufficient to open up the public right of way through the aqueduct tunnel or to enable navigation over the aqueduct.