Editing Thames and Severn Canal (section)

===Funding===
In order to provide a suitable structure to drive the restoration forwards, the Cotswold Canals Partnership was established in 2001, drawing together people representing the Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation, the Cotswold Canals Trust, councils at district and county level, and a number of other interested parties.<ref name=ccp>{{cite web |url=http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/general.asp?pid=2&pgid=171 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506231256/http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/general.asp?pid=2&pgid=171 |archive-date=6 May 2012 |title=Cotswold Canals Partnership |url-status=usurped |publisher=Cotswold Canals Partnership}}</ref> In 2002, the waterway was identified as being of high priority in the [[Association of Inland Navigation Authorities]] report entitled ''Vision for Strategic Enhancement of Britain's Inland Navigation Network'', and was one of several new projects highlighted at [[British Waterways]]' ''Unlocked and Unlimited'' conference held in March. The estimated cost of the project was £82 million.{{sfn |Squires |2008 |p=154}} Having raised £100,000, the Cotswold Canals Trust lodged the money with the [[Waterways Trust]], in the hope that it could be used as match funding for any grants that might be received. Andy Stumpf became the full-time Regeneration Programme Manager, working on a major bid application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to finance the restoration, and the canal was visited by [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], in his capacity as patron of the Waterways Trust.{{sfn |Squires |2008 |p=156}} A Heritage Survey, which cost £60,000 and was funded by the [[Inland Waterways Association]], was carried out, as was a Community Development Plan and a Visitor Management Strategy, costing another £30,000, all of which were pre-requisites for the main HLF bid.{{sfn |Squires |2008 |p=158}}

By the time the bid was ready for submission, the HLF were under pressure for the funds they had, and asked British Waterways, who were managing the application, to split the bid and the project into smaller phases. At the end of 2003, a provisional grant of £11.3 million was awarded by the HLF, to enable the restoration of the Stroudwater Navigation between [[Stonehouse, Gloucestershire|Stonehouse]] and Wallbridge, and the Thames and Severn Canal between Wallbridge and [[Brimscombe]] Port. An additional £2.9&nbsp;million was received from the European Inter-Regional budget for this first phase.{{sfn |Squires |2008 |p=164}} By the time the grant was awarded in January 2006, it had risen to £11.9&nbsp;million, and a further £6&nbsp;million of match funding was received from the South West of England Regional Development Agency.<ref name=ccp/> Alongside these major developments, the Cotswold Canals Trust has rebuilt a number of locks and bridges and some small sections of the rest of the route are now in water.

With the restoration underway, British Waterways pulled out of the partnership in 2008 because of financial difficulties. The role of project leader was taken over by Stroud District Council, and a new body, the Stroud Valleys Canal Company,<ref name=SN-heritage>{{cite web |url=http://www.stroudwater.co.uk/cpsn/heritage.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025095804/http://www.stroudwater.co.uk/cpsn/heritage.html |archive-date=25 October 2019 |url-status=live |title=Heritage |publisher=Stroudwater Canal Proprietors}}</ref> was created in March 2009 to act as a holding company for the assets of the waterway, with a responsibility to manage and maintain it once it is reopened. They now own most of the canal bed between Wallbridge and Brimscombe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/general.asp?pid=2&pgid=1913 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526022149/http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/general.asp?pid=2&pgid=1913 |archive-date=26 May 2012 |title=Stroud Valleys Canal Company |url-status=usurped |publisher=Cotswold Canals Partnership}}</ref> The cost of the restoration exceeded estimates, and as a result, the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to supply an additional £800,000 in December 2012, to allow full restoration between Stonehouse and Bowbridge, and the upgrading of the towpath onwards to Brimscombe Port. Work on the canal beyond Bowbridge would be handled by volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/_documents/2_SDC%20December%202012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511052451/http://www.cotswoldcanalsproject.org/_documents/2_SDC%20December%202012.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2015 |title=Project Update |date=December 2012 |publisher=Stround District Council |url-status=usurped |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref>