The City of Edinburgh Council’s transport and environment committee agreed to take forward a programme to celebrate the canal’s history last week and pledged to develop a new 10 year strategy for improvements to the 16km waterway.

The canal links central Edinburgh with the iconic Falkirk Wheel where it meets with the Forth & Clyde Canal.

The route originally opened in 1822 as a means of transporting goods such as coal but was closed in 1965 after its function was rendered obsolete by rail freight and heavy goods vehicles. It reopened in 2001 as part of the Millennium Link project which saw the Falkirk Wheel built, and has gone on to become a popular leisure destination.

“It’s wonderful that we’re going to be able to celebrate the Union Canal and its rich historical and social significance,” said Edinburgh’s transport and environment convener Lesley Macinnes. “Not only does it shed light on our industrial past but now serves as a haven for boating, walking, cycling and spending time.”

Plans for the canal’s bicentenary will be finalised over the coming months alongside stakeholders but could include exhibitions, a commemorative canal flotilla and a special edition of the Edinburgh Canal Festival in June. It is also hoped to secure a new future for an abandoned boat house at Lockharton Bridge.

Scottish Canals revenue and regeneration director David Blair said: “The Union Canal has a rich history. Once powering the industrial revolution in the city, it has been transformed for the 21st Century and almost 200 years on from its opening it remains a hub of activity.

“The anniversary will not only celebrate the heritage of the network but will also create new and exciting opportunities for canal side communities to learn more about the canal's past as well as its present use.”

(Photograph: City of Edinburgh Council)