Park 'n' Glide scheme on Grand Western Canal in Taunton 'on a roll'

But the people behind the scheme admit to "gaps in our knowledge", including how much it would cost.

The project would involve reviving the Grand Western Canal, which closed 150 years ago, and turning it into a 21st Century eco-friendly link for commuters and visitors.

A solar-powered 'Park 'n' Glide' shuttle would provide a one-mile link from Silk Mills park and ride car park, where a lift would be installed, to French Weir just off the town centre, with the route slightly altered from the original one.

Another mile of canal following the historic route would link the scheme with the West Somerset Railway at Norton Fitzwarren.

Robert Hodgson, chairman of The Friends of the Grand Western Canal, gave the group's annual general meeting an update on plans to reconstruct the lift in Taunton.

He said: "The Taunton Canal Lift and Links project, also known as Park 'n' Glide, is very much on a roll.

"We have spent the summer consulting as widely as we can with decision-makers and the general public and are finding universal support.

"We are getting positive publicity at a national level, which is benefitting all of our canal.

"However, there are gaps in our knowledge that we really have to fill in, such as the cost of the scheme and how best to supply the water it will need."

The project is aiming to raise £35,000 initially and recently received a £500 cheque from the West Country branch of the Inland Waterways.

Mr Hodgson added: "Our fund raising so far means we can start making feasibility studies during the winter, but how far we get will be governed by how much more money we can raise."

The initial suggestions include re-using the old canal bed still visible at the bottom of the Frieze Hill estate and building a new piece of canal to Silk Mills to allow rapid transfers by electric shuttles.

The vertical lifts built in Somerset in the 1830s were the first commercial boat lifts anywhere in the world.