THE Duchess of Cornwall will open the new landing stage on the Wilts and Berks Canal next week, arriving on a traditional narrowboat for the ceremony.

She will be at the new development, which is alongside Waitrose at West Wichel, on July 13 in her role as patron of the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust, which she has occupied for the last eight years.

The duchess will arrive at the event on Dragonfly, a traditional-style narrowboat built by the trust to allow the public to enjoy trips on this historic stretch of water.

And she will unveil a commemorative plaque at the landing stage.

Roderick Bluh, the former leader of Swindon Borough Council, has recently taken the tiller as chairman of the trust and said the new stage was the latest project in a recent acceleration in the pace of the canal restoration.

“The trust has made significant advances in the last year and we have a number of major projects in the pipeline,” he said.

“The Melksham Link, for example, has the potential to create a fantastic new leisure destination for Wiltshire along a proposed two-mile stretch of our canal, providing significant economic benefits for the region and the town.

“We hope in time that Swindon itself will become the hub of a network of navigable waterways connecting much of southern England.”

It is planned that the one-mile stretch of the original canal at West Wichel will be linked to the new one-mile canal section recently constructed at East Wichel.

It is being worked on as a joint venture between the trust and Swindon Borough Council.

It will loop around the three new Wichelstowe villages that form part of the Swindon development plan.

The Wilts and Berks Canal is being restored after it was closed and some of it filled in more than 100 years ago. The trust is aiming to restore the full 70-mile length over the next decade.

Lord Lansdowne, the president of the Wiltshire, Swindon and Oxfordshire Canal Partnership, said: “We are hugely grateful for Her Royal Highness’s continued support which helps to inspire the 2,600 members who still form the backbone of our work.

“Research has clearly shown that waterways enhance people’s lives, not just in the countryside but most particularly in our towns and cities. People like to live, work and spend their leisure time alongside water.

“Our own Wilts and Berks Canal has an important part to play in reinstating a national network of navigable waterways.”

Cllr David Renard, the leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “We are extremely honoured to welcome HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to Swindon and, in turn, showcase our ambitious and exciting plans for the development at Wichelstowe.

“We are looking forward to working with the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust as our plans for the canal develop.”

Ian Smith, a manager at Waitrose, said: “Since we opened just over a year ago we have built an excellent relationship with the Canal Trust and we are looking forward to that continuing for many years to come.

“We are thrilled that the trust’s boat trips will be starting from a landing stage next to our branch. It is a wonderful feature for the public and for Waitrose.

“The fact that Her Royal Highness will be officially opening the landing stage is the icing on the cake.”