A STUDY has been launched into the historic Leeds to Liverpool Canal which passes through parts of Chorley.

Funded by £67,000 from the North West Development Agency (NWDA), the feasibility study will examine the future regeneration of the 127-mile waterway which runs through Adlington and Wheelton.

The research, which will be completed in March 2002, will be carried out by a partnership including the NWDA, British Waterways, and English Heritage.

Together the partners will identify potential schemes for future development, and produce an action plan aiming to attract investment and strengthen the region's economy.

These will include improvements to buildings along the canal's route and reclamation of derelict land.

The canal, the longest in Britain, has 91 locks, and took more than 40 years to complete. It was opened in 1816 enabling freight to be carried between the port of Liverpool and the Aire and Calder Navigation at Leeds. Today it is used mainly for tourism and recreation.

Ronny Marsden, NWDA regeneration manager for Lancashire, said it was too early to say which sites would be earmarked for development. He added: "We are pleased to be involved in a study of this historic part of the industrial North West."

And Alan Bates, waterway manager for the canal, said: "This is one of the largest canal corridor studies undertaken by British Waterways and will lead to a deliverable action plan for corridor-wide regeneration opportunities throughout Lancashire."

Darren Ratcliffe, English Heritage areas advisor for Lancashire, said the canal was an important engineering achievement. "It has the potential to contribute significantly to the economic regeneration of the varied landscape through which it runs."