Last week you featured the £14m Montgomery Canal Restoration Project and the much-needed expansion of the Powysland Museum and displaced Welshpool library.

This investment is long overdue. Congratulations to all those involved.

Repairing neglected historical buildings is an expensive business. There is so much privately owned empty and dilapidated property in Welshpool town centre that it is becoming an eyesore.

This grant success must be seen in the context of policy failure, UK Government funding cuts, the relentless, public-spirited work of the Montgomery Waterways Restoration Trust, the heavy reliance of dedicated local volunteers and The Canal & River Trust #KeepCanalsAlive awareness raising campaign (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/support-us/our-campaigns/keep-canals-alive)

Whilst the grant is strategically targeted, is any money available to make emergency repairs to the towpath between the Flash Leisure Centre and the Aldi supermarket?

In addition to the recreational amenity of the Canal. The towpath is an important thoroughfare used by young parents, pupils, and factory workers, linking the town with two of our schools and the industrial estate beyond.

Motorists are used to dodging potholes on our roads, but it’s not easy avoiding the mud and puddles along this busy section of the towpath when it rains.

The Canal and River Trust has created a helpful template to make it easier for people to write to their MP as we approach the next general election.

If you think the Montgomery Canal is an important public amenity worth fighting for, please ask Mr Williams why central government has failed to invest more in local infrastructure.

With gratitude, Tom Memery, Welshpool