Campaigners say restoration will help boost the local economy

The Cotswold Canals Partnership aims to reopen the 230-year old waterway link between Stroud, Bristol and Gloucester.

A scheme to restore a section of the Stroudwater Canal that links Stonehouse to Saul was short-listed by the Big Lottery Fund last month.

Campaigners said they were disappointed to learn that the project had not been picked to receive funding.

The Cotswold Canals is made up of the 29-mile (46km) Thames & Severn Canal and the seven-mile (13km) Stroudwater Navigation Canal.

When fully restored, the canals will form a continuous waterway from Saul Junction on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to Lechlade in Gloucestershire, including the 2¼ -mile (4km) Sapperton Tunnel and 56 Locks.