Broxtowe Borough Council subsequently bought 6 miles (9.7 km) of the upper section with the intention of retaining it as a public amenity.

There was a brief attempt at re-opening the upper section for navigation, but subsequent road construction and the destruction of the canal bed by open-cast mining have made that impractical.

Car parks have been provided, and Nottinghamshire County Council have assisted with making the towpath accessible to the disabled.

When the Cromford Canal was authorised in July 1789, there was concern that collieries which were located near it would thrive, at the expense of those nearer to Nottingham.

Convinced that these issues were not just idle speculation, Thomas Oldknow, John Morris and Henry Green lobbied for a public meeting.

Those present approved a plan, and formed a committee, which included two men who were also connected to the company building the Cromford Canal.

[1] The committee called upon the services of the surveyor William Jessop, who had experience with the successful Cromford Canal.

Jessop then became ill, and suggested that the survey could be carried out by James Green, who worked for Lord Middleton at Wollaton.

This would allow traffic on the river to bypass Trent Bridge, where passage was difficult, and to pass the wharves in Nottingham.

The flood arches were replaced by a new bridge, and the canal turned sharply to the south, to join the Trent.

The proprietors wanted a basin where the canal joined the river, with a lock above that, but Jessop argued that such an arrangement would lead to the entrance becoming blocked with sand.

The town section was officially opened on 30 July 1793, giving access to wharves, although there was still much work to be completed.

To the east of Leen Bridge, a weir was constructed, to feed water into the Brewery Arm, an enlargement of the river channel.

[12] The cost of building the canal onwards from Lenton exceeded Jessop's estimate, and by September 1794, this had been paid for by calling £140 on each of the £100 shares.

In February 1795, sections of the new cut were damaged, when seven weeks of severe frost were followed by a rapid thaw which caused flooding.

[17] The company warehouse near Wilford Street, Nottingham, was destroyed on 28 September 1818 by an explosion, which resulted in two men dying.

In January 1826, the company prosecuted Hooton and Bradshaw for running a steam packet boat, which was forbidden by a regulation passed the previous May.

However, the operators of the vessel protested, and the company changed their policy in May 1826, so that steam boats could be run at their discretion.

Although the station did not open until 1842, the canal company started to reduce tolls in mid 1840, to retain traffic against railway competition.

After several court cases and an appeal to the House of Lords, the sale was agreed, and the final committee meeting of the canal company was held on 4 April 1856.

There were regular complaints about a lack of water in the section from Lenton to Trent Lock, but the Great Northern did nothing to address the issues.

On 23 September 1964, a section of the top pound was drained, between Trowell and Wollaton, and a large portion of the remainder, between Awsworth and Bailey Grove, was subsequently destroyed by opencast coal mining.

[30] They also campaigned for the Awsworth Bypass, which was scheduled to be built in 1980, to include navigable headroom where it crossed the canal.

This section was not originally built with a towpath, but in 1976, the Nottinghamshire Leisure Services Committee approved plans to construct one.

The work took six years to complete, and was opened by Illtyd Harrington of British Waterways on 9 June 1982, at a ceremony also attended by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Peter Burgess.

[40] In 1977 Broxtowe Borough Council bought a 6 miles (9.7 km) stretch of the top pound, running from Eastwood through Awsworth, Cossall and Trowell to the outer edge of the city of Nottingham at Bramcote.

The name Swansea for the bridge and cottages originates from the fact that this particular part of the canal is where large quantities of swans used to congregate.

Due to the lack of water in 1980 a decision was taken by the garden centre and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to relocate them.

Broxtowe Council are helped by several organisations in the management of the canal, including Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, The British Trust for Nature Conservation Volunteers, the Countryside Agency, Nottinghamshire County Council and Awsworth Angling Club.

[44] Download coordinates as: Media related to Nottingham Canal at Wikimedia Commons 52°57′18″N 1°16′43″W / 52.9550°N 1.2787°W / 52.9550; -1.2787 (Approx mid point)