A CENTURY has dramatically transformed the fortunes of Britain's waterways but now a recent renaissance has raised the serious prospect of reviving the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal.

Former Ledbury mayor Spencer Lane last week called for a bid to be made for Government funds to restore the part of the canal in the town. He said money earmarked to help the rural economy recover from foot and mouth could be used to provide the section of canal as a new tourist attraction.

That did not sound unreasonable to David Penny, a director of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust, who pointed out that John Prescott announced the £24 million foot and mouth fund from the back of a narrow boat in Birmingham. He said the Government recognises the economic case for restoring waterways and the tide was now strongly in favour of projects like the trust's, to eventually restore the entire length of the H&W Canal.

He explained: "This year there will be 200 miles of canal opened, representing £170 million worth of investment."

In Ledbury, the canal would have to follow a new route along the by-pass, as its original course has been built over. Mr Penny said the economic case for restoring the canal is good. In 1995, British Waterways estimated that £5 million would be added to the local economy.

As well as an environmentally-friendly tourist attraction, Mr Penny said there would also be leisure and recreation benefits for local people. It also raises the prospect of narrow boats being able to link up with a national network of around 2,500 miles of waterways from the area, accessed via the River Severn at Over and the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal.

The 34 miles of the Hereford to Gloucester canal has its roots in the canal mania of the late 18th Century with work beginning at Over, near Gloucester, in 1793 and reaching Ledbury, via Newent, in 1798. It was hoped that traffic being generated by the Newent coalfield would provide revenues but the coal was of poor quality and the canal stopped at Ledbury for decades.

In 1839, the noted Colwall engineer Stephen Ballard oversaw the project to extend the canal to Hereford. This was completed in 1845 but the advent of the railways meant the writing was on the wall.

In 1863, the canal was leased to Great Western Railway, which continued to operate it until 1881 when work began on the Ledbury to Gloucester Railway. It used the line of the canal and left the Ledbury-Hereford section to sink into disuse. The railway line was closed during the Beeching cuts in 1964.

Happier times for the waterway began in 1983 with a project to restore the Monkhide section, which was completed by the trust in 1995.

This includes a tribute to Ballard's engineering skills, the most askew bridge on the entire waterways system. Skew Bridge is at an angle of more than 60 degrees to the road and is Grade II Listed.

Monkhide was followed by other restoration projects, including a three-quarter-of-a-mile 'dry' stretch at Yarkhill, finished in 1996 with the help of 1,100 volunteer hours.

At Oxenhall, near Newent, there were repairs to the faade of the Oxenhall Tunnel, at one and a quarter miles long, an extremely expensive undertaking for the original builders. Work began in 1990 and extended beyond Colharbour Lane Bridge following the donation of a further quarter-of-a-mile-stretch, Lock Cottage, the lock and an aqueduct over the Ell Brook. The cottage was sold to raise funds and the rest restored, although the lock still awaits new gates.

The 'Daddy' of all projects was at Over, near Gloucester, after the former Over Hospital was bought by a housing developer. The trust was able to negotiate with the developer to restore the canal at Over.

With a budget of £50,000, volunteers, with specialist help from the Waterway Recovery Group, were able to undertake work which would have cost £500,000 at tender. They have created a showpiece for the whole canal restoration, which was opened by Prunella Scales and Timothy West last year and can be seen at open days on June 24, July 29 and August 26.

"The original lock keeper's cottage will be knocked down in the next couple of months, it's structurally unsound and unsafe," said Mr Penny. "It's being replaced by the developer, at their expense, with a 400 sq ft visitor centre and facilities. It's a very public face."

A series of bridges have been provided at Hereford as part of various developments, another public commitment to future restoration. The route is safeguarded by both Herefordshire Council and Gloucestershire County Council and the trust has a reservoir of around 900 volunteers to call on, making it one of the larger groups in the country. Who would bet against a narrow boat coming to town?