FRUSTRATED Wychavon councillors have branded the Environment Agency "disgraceful" for raising "last minute" objections to a major canal restoration project for Droitwich.

Supporters of the £11.5 million scheme to restore the Droitwich Junction and Barge canals believe environmental objections could jeopardise funding for a project which has been 30 years in the making.

But an Agency spokeswoman said staff were just trying to protect the environment amid concerns the plan lacked detail.

Preparatory work on the project finally began earlier this year but this latest application represents a major step forward.

When approved, a 21 mile cruising ring will link Droitwich with Worcester with a missing section of the Junction canal replaced and part of the River Salwarpe canalised.

A new tunnel for the Barge canal will also be built under the A449 at Hawford.

However, the EA has concerns about water quality and biodiversity, Natural England believes the plan could have a harmful effect on wildlife habitats and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust has highlighted a series of environmental problems.

Worcestershire County Council, which has pledged £1 millon to the project, also questioned biodiversity impacts.

At a planning meeting, councillors agreed to delegate approval to the head of planning to allow officers to address concerns.

Committee chairman Jean Dowty said: "It's disgraceful for a government body (the EA) that they should leave this to the last minute when we can't deal with these things."

Coun Judy Pearce added: "The objections from the EA and Worcestershire County Council were particularly disappointing since they've been partners in this work all along."

Droitwich Canal Trust chairman Coun Margaret Rowley added:"It would be so much better if these organisations had worked more closely with the Droitwich Canals' Restoration partnership because we all have a common aim."

However, the EA's Lyn Fraley said the agency had had lengthy discussions with stakeholders for five years and had been making those points throughout that time.

She added: "While we remain concerned about number of potential environmental impacts of the scheme we are very keen to support it."

"We recognise the importance of the scheme to the regeneration of Droitwich but we are keen to ensure that it is not at the expense of the environment."