SUPPORTERS of the proposed canal marina restoration in Cefn Mawr are being urged to attend a special meeting.
A public hearing for Wrexham Council’s local development plan (LDP) is scheduled to start on January 25 and campaign organiser David Metcalfe is urging local people to show their support for the canal project.
The proposal to reinstate the Plas Kynaston Canal with a 60 berth marina on the site of the former Flexsys factory behind the Queen’s Hotel in Cefn Mawr is one of the items that will be under consideration.
The Plas Kynaston Canal and Marina Group first submitted the plans in June, 2010 and asked for them to be included in the authority’s then forthcoming LDP.
They whipped up the support of thousands, who submitted letters in favour at the end of the public consultation on the LDP in March.
The dates have now been announced for an independent examination of Wrexham’s LDP by the Planning Inspectorate Wales.
Mr Metcalfe said: “This will link Cefn Mawr to the inland waterway network and establish the village itself as the visitor centre for the area and the Pontcysyllte aqueduct.
“This link is essential to foster commercial enterprise within the community and turn the economy of a presently hard hit and downtrodden area around, for the benefit of all concerned in the World Heritage Site corridor and the counties of Wrexham and Denbighshire as a whole.”
“We notified Wrexham Council in January and stated we would like to attend the independent public examination in 2012.
“We would also like to invite as many people to attend, so they can see where their vote is going. The hearing is open to the public and we believe in putting our cards on the table,” he added.
The Welsh Government has appointed Hywel Wyn Jones of the Planning Inspectorate Wales to conduct the examination which will include a series of hearings over four weeks.
- A talk on the Plas Kynaston Canal will be given by Peter Brown of the Inland Waterways Association at the Narrowboat Inn (Maestermyn Marina), Ellesmere Road, Whittington, on Monday at 7.30pm. Members and non-members are welcome.