HERITAGE TRAIL PROJECT WILL BE ASSET FOR THE FUTURE - HUHNE

3.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 25th Jul 2008

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne welcomed the Itchen Navigation Heritage Trail project as a marvellous facility for future generations in Eastleigh, Bishopstoke, Winchester and Southampton.

Mr Huhne was speaking at the launch of the project in Palmer's Field, Winchester along with (pictured kneeling from left) TV wildlife expert Chris Packham, Debbie Tann, chief executive of the Hampshire Wildlife Trust and standing (from left) Julia Simpson of the Environment Agency, Frank Campbell of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire, and Sue Runyard of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mr Huhne said: "The Itchen Navigation is not just important in the industrial history of this county, but of the whole country, as it was opened in 1710 and was therefore one of the very first canals to be built that opened up new markets to cheaper goods.

"This project will stop the deterioration in its banks, and help avoid breaches, and will establish the old towpath once again as a walking route through lovely countryside in the valley of the Itchen, a chalk stream recognised as a precious environmental resource not just here but by the European Union" said Mr Huhne.

"The key is providing routes so that people can enjoy the valley and the Itchen with all its varied wildlife - including the threatened water vole, deer, and water fowl - safely and without undermining its sustainability".

Chris Packham recalled his boyhood walking to the river and the navigation from his family home in Midanbury and then up to Winchester and beyond with all the wildlife - from grass snakes to kestrels - that first inspired his love of nature.

The £2.4 million project is set to be complete by 2012 and will restore and stabilise the banks of the Navigation, locks and hatches, build a heritage trail with information for walkers, survey important wildlife species and involve nearby communities in conservation tasks and heritage research.