Clive Field who currently manages the Trust’s Heritage Centre at Saul said it was vital for the people of Stroud to have easy access to the latest information on the restoration scheme.

“This is the ideal place for us to have a presence,” he told members. “We need to be in Stroud. We need to be more open and available. We’re here for the long haul.”

Mr Field said that over 16,000 people had visited the Saul Heritage Centre in the past year. He expected even more people to use the new Stroud resource which could be open throughout the week by May.

In addition to relocating the Trust’s headquarters from Cirencester, the new project will host a retail area and visitor information centre. Future plans involve a café, a centre for guided walks, a picnic area and even a base for horse-drawn boat trips. Historically Wallbridge was the meeting point for the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames and Severn Canal.

The site will also provide excellent viewpoints over the Wallbridge canal locks where work is due to start in May on a major bridge building scheme as part of the restoration project.

The Town Council agreed to support the project with £6,000 of funding over three years. Cllr Dave Cockcroft, who chairs the council’s finance committee, said: “We have always seen the Wallbridge area as the main gateway for people to walk from the canal into the town centre. This not only helps meet that desire but will also provide a vital town centre tourist attraction and a valuable source of information to tell people what is happening and why.”

Article placed online: Tuesday 12th January 2010