 Following a meeting with representatives from the Dorset and Somerset Canal, which was part of a grand scheme to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel, a number of local businessmen obtained an Act of Parliament on 22 June 1795, which made provision for improving the river between Ilchester and Bicknell Bridge, just to the south east of Langport, and then cutting through the town along the course of the Portlake Rhine, which was then a drain, and rejoining the River Parrett below Langport lock.The act allowed the proprietors to raise £6,000 by issuing shares, and a further £2,000 in loans, if required.Around three quarters of the share capital had been promised before the act was obtained, and so work commenced immediately.