LAPAL Canal conservationists have won a £5,000 grant for the next stage of restoration work.

The Lapal Canal Trust has been awarded the funding from the Headley Trust to cover the cost of planning permission for the work needed on the section that runs through Birmingham’s Selly Oak Park.

The first stage of the restoration in Battery Park has started and the trust expects to have the Inland Waterways Association’s Waterways Recovery Group working on the Selly Oak Park stretch next summer once planning permission is in place.

Dr Peter Best Chairman of the Lapal Canal Trust saisd: “We are delighted that the work of the trust has been recognised by the Headley Trust and the grant will help to fund the next stage.”

The Lapal Canal forms part of the Dudley No 2 Canal opened in 1798, used mainly to carry coal from Dudley to London.

The link was closed in 1917 following the collapse of the Lapal Tunnel and competition from the railways.

Once reopened, it is hoped the Lapal Canal will be a significant tourist attraction completing a circular route around Birmingham.