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(Canal largely owned by Halton, Warrington and St Helens unitary authorities, with small parts owned by BW and Pilkington plc)
Although its construction was authorised by Act of Parliament as a river-navigation, the Sankey Canal was constructed as an entirely new channel and predated the Bridgewater Canal and so is the first ‘modern’ canal built in England. Sankey Canal Restoration Society has undertaken isolated projects on the Canal, including the restoration of a double lock on the outskirts of St Helens. The Canal is a central feature of regeneration proposals by St Helens and Halton councils in St Helens town centre and at the Widnes end of the canal respectively. The Society continues to carry out regular work on the Canal, to maintain its appearance and to reveal and interpret lost evidence of its infrastructure, such as the locks and associated cottages. In addition to restoring the original line of the Canal, the Society also proposes to link the Sankey to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Leigh by an entirely new waterway.
