A RALLYING cry has gone out to Droitwich folk to get behind a £10m restoration project for the town's canal.

It is hoped it will change the face of the town, transforming the canal into a major tourist and leisure attraction and creating nearly 100 jobs.

The restoration of the Droitwich Barge and Junction Canals has been in the pipeline for 30 years.

Now, after years of campaigning by the Droitwich Canals Trust and other interested parties, sufficient money for the project has finally been found.

Earlier this month, grants of £4.2m and £2.8m were announced by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Advantage West Midlands.

Worcestershire County Council and Wychavon District Council will each pitch in with £1m, with a further £1m still to be raised.

At a meeting at Droitwich's Raven Hotel, business people heard how the £10m project would turn the canal into one of the most-visited attractions in the county. They were asked to get behind it with cash, time or expertise.

Ideas mooted include a canal-side hotel, a chandlery, boat and cycle hire outlets, cafs and restaurants.

The project will also link the River Severn and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, creating a 21-mile leisure cruise "ring" that boaters can complete in a weekend.

The completed project is expected to attract 330,000 visitors to Droitwich each year, generating £2.75m of additional spending.

An estimated 98 new jobs will be created by the project, as well as more than 16-acres of wildlife habitat. A canal-side marina is also on the cards.

Speaking at the lunch, Peter Smith, strategic planning, economic strategy and regeneration manager at the county council, said the restoration was an "extremely important" project for Worcestershire.

"Tourism is a key industry in Worcestershire and there is huge potential to further develop water-based tourism," he said, adding that 12,500 people were employed in tourism in the county.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff said the restoration, due to start in early 2004, was due to the unfailing efforts of the Droitwich Canals Trust, formed in 1973.

"A lot of people said it would never happen, but it's actually happening, and it's thanks to the Droitwich Canals Trust," he said.

"I find it hugely exciting that something of such historic importance can regenerate a 21st Century town. It's not just important for Droitwich, but for the whole county."