An additional £950,000 of funding is to be allocated to Scottish Canals, it has been announced. Transport Minister Keith Brown has said the money will go towards a number of ambitious canal projects.

Funding of £500,000 will go towards the development of a £1.2m visitor centre at the Kelpies canal hub. This is part of a wider £43m Helix project to redevelop 350 hectares of land between Grangemouth and Falkirk. As part of the work, the Kelpies sculptures - two 30m-high steel horse heads - were commissioned and they have been installed beside the Forth and Clyde canal. It will be the major attraction at The Kelpies hub, which is due to open in the spring.

The remaining funds – £450,000 – will fund surfacing, landscaping and decking work at the Pinkston Watersports Centre in Glasgow. The facility, which is located at the Pinkston Basin of the Forth and Clyde Canal, at Port Dundas, Glasgow, will offer a competition-standard white-water course, canoe polo pitches and a boathouse.

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The £2.3m water sports centre is also expected to open its doors in the spring and is part of a wider initiative to regenerate the north of the city.

In a statement, Minister Brown said: "I am delighted to announce additional funding to Scottish Canals which builds on our commitment to supporting the organisation in its regeneration work. This funding will go some considerable way to improving the visitor experience at both the Kelpies visitor centre and Pinkston Watersports.

"Our canals organisation has shown ambitious vision and effective partnership working to realise the benefits from our canals. As well as driving forward the regeneration of both urban and rural canal-side communities, it is also active in the tourism market.

"Scotland's canals are of historic significance and are an asset we place great value on. Excellent progress has been made over the past decade in revitalising the network and we are now keen to deliver a wider public benefit and this funding will allow continued progress."

(JP/IT)