The canal is currently blocked by a main road at Arddleen

The blueprint for the scheme to re-open the stretch of Montgomery canal between Arddleen and Maesbury will be put forward at three public meetings at Welshpool, Oswestry and Newtown.

The project allowing boats to navigate through Welshpool towards Newtown would cost �35m.

Public input into the strategy being developed to support a number of grant submissions for next year will finish at the end of September.

We will have to do major work to the main A483 because bridges taking traffic over the canal were knocked down in 1949 Project manager Stephen Lees

If funding bids are successful, British Waterways, which governs the UK canal network, believes the 16-mile-stretch of canal in mid Wales could be joined to the UK network within five years.

High cost

The high cost of the project is due to several factors, according to Stephen Lees, British Waterways' project manager.

"A big part of the project is the number of crossings on the A483 main road," said Mr Lees.

"We will have to do major work to the main A483 because bridges taking traffic over the canal were knocked down in 1949."

The Montgomery canal is a site of special scientific interest and is the best in Britain for wildlife and aquatic plants, according to Mr Lees.

Welshpool could be joined to the UK network in five years

"Rare plants such as floating water plantain and grass wrack pondweed can be found along the canal," he said.

"We have also commissioned an economic survey to complement the conservation strategy to provide an overall plan that will support our submissions to funding bodies."

Mr Lees believed opening the Welsh waterway had the potential to create 100 jobs and boost the economy of areas surrounding the canal by �2m a year.

With the help of �140,000 lottery money, a conservation management strategy for the next stage of the project is now being prepared.

A two-and-a-half mile stretch of the 35-mile long canal between Queen's Head and Maesbury was opened in April.

Rare grasses would be conserved on the canal

This means that only the six-mile stretch between Maesbury and Arddleen needs to be completed to link up the canal with mid-Wales.

The Montgomery Canal schemes one of a number of canal restoration projects outlined in 'Waterways for Wales' a document that aims to revitalise canals and their surrounding communities.

The Montgomery Canal was built in 1821 and was used to carry limestone, wood and leather goods before being abandoned in 1944.

Volunteers have been restoring the waterway for the last 33 years and after �20m worth of work, nearly half the canal has been restored for barges to use.

The meetings will be at Welshpool on 1 September, Oswestry on 4 September and Newtown on 9 September.