A new marina is to be built at Llangollen

British Waterways - a public corporation responsible for a 2,000 mile canal and river network throughout the UK - plans to develop the marina in Llangollen.

A 32-berth marina and 48-hour visitor mooring will be built.

The scheme is expected to bring in provide around 163,000 extra visitors a year.

Denbighshire council also believes the marina could generate �400,000 towards the local economy.

This is a significant boost for the tourism industry and excellent news for Llangollen Council leader Eryl Williams

Llangollen canal, which is nearly 200 years old, is one the most popular waterways in the UK.

It is part of the Shropshire Union canal, which runs from Nantwich to Llangollen and stretches 47 miles.

The aqueducts at Chirk and Pontcysyllte are steeped in history and were built by the engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessup.

They were among the first to use cast iron troughs to contain the canal.

Tourism

Denbighshire council leader Eryl Williams said the marina would be a huge benefit to Llangollen.

"This is a significant boost for the tourism industry and excellent news for Llangollen," he said.

"More people will come here for holiday breaks and there will be significant benefits for hotels and restaurants and will compliment the success of the Llangollen railway."

British Waterways would have to widen the canal's existing channel to build the proposed new mooring basin.

More than �600,000 has been secured from the European Objective One funding scheme to help pay for the scheme.