POSTPONE the multi-million pound canal project to save local services, that is the plea being made by residents of Wotton-under-Edge.

At the Annual Parish Assembly residents and town councillors voted to write to Stroud District Council to request the authority defer the £33 million canal restoration project, of which over £25 million is external funding, to put money back into communities hit by the cuts.

Town mayor Dr John Cordwell said almost everyone at the meeting agreed that the canal would not have any benefits for Wotton and the money would be better spent helping the town through the Government cuts.

"It would be nice to see the canal opened up, I hope it will be done one day. But when we are strapped for cash it seems wrong for them to plough money into it," said Cllr Cordwell.

"We cannot really see any benefits for Wotton and it would be difficult for us to get to.

"We do realise they may be tied into contracts, but this was about making a protest against it. People in the town are particularly worried about the cuts to our services such as the youth centre."

Stroud District Council is also launching a second review of part-time sports centres and will be looking at the options for the sports centre at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School. A similar review last year saw the district withdraw its funding for Wotton Pool and hand ownership of the facility over to Wotton Town Council.

The Stroudwater Canal project has been billed as a major restoration and regeneration project that would bring jobs and tourism to the whole district.

However many people in Wotton felt the scheme would have no direct benefit to them.

Resident Donald Pooley said he thought the canal project was "disgraceful".

Cllr Keith Pearson, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "We can understand the assembly's concern about cuts to services, however I can reassure them that we intend to prioritise efficiencies over cuts.

"That said, there is no denying that we will inevitably have to make some cuts in the future, but any tough decisions will be considered very carefully and there will be no knee-jerk reactions.

"With respect to putting the canal project on hold, we have to look at the long-term benefit to the district.

"The project to restore the canals is a once in a lifetime opportunity, which is primarily funded by over £25 million of external funding. We are committed to the regeneration benefits it will yield in the years ahead."