With the Manchester Ship Canal under construction, and other large canals being proposed, a committee was formed to investigate a new canal from Sheffield to the sea. T & C Hawksley, assisted by James Abernethy, were asked to report on whether a canal from Sheffield suitable for medium-sized coasters could be built, to the Ouse, the Trent or the Humber. Their report, presented in October 1888, suggested that the existing locks on the route from Sheffield to Keadby were inadequate, but that the waterway could be upgraded to take 300- to 500-ton boats by building new locks alongside the old, without disrupting traffic. The estimated cost of this work, which included a new canal from Tinsley to Sheffield, but did not include buying the canals from the railway company, was put at £1 million. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Canal Company Limited was formed in November 1888, with a capital of £30,000, to promote this new venture and obtain the necessary Act of Parliament.