Surrey section of Wey and Arun Canal to be opened up

Restoration of the Wey and Arun Canal has been under way since the 1970s

Work to restore a Surrey section of the Wey and Arun Canal to a navigable condition is about to get under way with the help of a £4,000 grant.

The cash, from charity the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), will be used to remove silt from the Wey and Arun Canal near Dunsfold.

The section, from the south of Compasses Bridge to Tickner's Heath, has already been cleared of blockages.

Two causeways were removed in the 1990s by the Wey and Arun Canal Trust (WACT).

The canal is already navigable between Compasses Bridge and the A281 at Fast Bridge.

Competition from railways

The Wey and Arun Canal, which was opened in 1816 as a link between London and the south coast via the River Thames, runs from Shalford, in Surrey, to Pallingham in West Sussex.

It closed in 1871 because of competition from the railways.

Restoration of the 23 mile (36km) route has been under way by WACT volunteers since the 1970s.

The IWA has also made a grant of £2,000 to help fund preliminary studies on the northern section of the canal, in the Shalford and Bramley area where it joins the River Wey.