A new investment plan has been launched to spruce up Tring Reservoirs.
Early proposals include creating a campsite next to Tringford Reservoir, car park and visitor centre at Marsworth Reservoir and two-storey education block with toilets at Startop’s End Reservoir.
The Canal and River Trust, a charity that celebrated its first anniversary in July, is behind the project.
Enterprise manager James Clifton said: “It will all come down to when we can secure external funding for it, but it is probably a five- or 10-year project.”
Part of the funding could come from the European Union, he said.
The project follows the trust’s improvement works to Leicestershire’s Foxton Locks, where £5million was spent, and Northamptonshire’s Stoke Bruerne stretch of the Grand Union Canal, where £500,000 was invested.
Mr Clifton said: “Tring Reservoirs, I expect, will cost somewhere between the two.”
Groups with key links to the 132-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is a haven for wildlife including watering waterbirds, are now being consulted by the trust.
Mr Clifton said early feedback suggests the site, which attracts 300,000 visitors a year, needs new public toilets and parking spaces – as its one car park is often full.
He said: “It is a fantastic site and we want to make sure people can enjoy it to its full potential.”
Other proposals by the Trust include a new barbecue site, orienteering course and heritage trail explaining the history of Tring Reservoirs.
Three acres of the reservoirs are used to feed the historic Grand Union Canal.
The trust also suggests improving and maintaining brown tourist signs, bird hides, paths and footpath signs at and around the reservoirs.
The trust also plans to do more to promote Tring Reservoirs as a place where events and activities can be held.
> What do you think of the plans? Tell us – leave a comment below or email thegazette@jpress.co.uk
{http://www.deetv.tv/projects/tring-reservoirs/|You can view a video about Tring Reservoirs by clicking here.}
