the River Restoration Centre

Case Studies

A substantial element of the River Restoration Centre's work is to play an active role in advising and supporting the initiation of river restoration and enhancement projects in the UK. Below are a few examples of projects that RRC has been involved in which will be added to regularly. To find out more about the projects below, other projects that RRC have been involved in, or to discuss how RRC could become involved in your project please contact the Centre.

Please use the filters below to select a specific County, Region or River.

River Avon, Churchill Gardens

The River Avon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) runs through the heart of Salisbury City Centre. Churchill Gardens is a public park on the southern boundary of the city where the main river passes beneath the busy A338 and the A36 main Southampton Road. A series of artificial, shallow concrete-lined and block-stone sided drainage channels are divert.....More

River Wylye, Langford Lakes

This area comprises a series of large lakes with the River Wylye, a chalk stream, flowing through the centre of them. Langford lakes and the River Wylye are renowned for their popularity for angling but fish populations have declined over recent years. This has resulted in a partnership being formed between the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, English Nature, the Environment Agency and the Wild Trout Tr.....More

River Quaggy, Chinbrook Meadows

This section of the Quaggy Brook, with a flashy flow regime, was channelised and straightened between 1960-1970 as part of a flood alleviation scheme. Until recently it was encased in concrete and had fences and high privet hedges near to each bank. It could neither be accessed nor viewed by the public, and was devoid of natural fauna or flora. The objectives were to reintroduce the floodplai.....More

River Quaggy, Sutcliffe Park

For years the River Quaggy at Sutcliffe Park was lost underground in a culvert. Local residents only became aware that a river was there when their homes flooded more frequently as development increased. Rather than further deepening and widening the hidden channel, a decision was made to combine flood risk management with a strategy for river restoration that would benefit the local community. T.....More

River Ravensbourne, Cornmill Gardens

Before the regeneration of this site, this section of the Ravensbourne flowed through an area known as the Sundermead Estate. The river had been constrained within a narrow concrete channel as part of an historic flood defence scheme. This, together with high steel railings and overgrown vegetation had resulted in a neglected river possessing little ecological or local community interest. The.....More

River Rhee, Cambridgeshire
Bank re-profiling and narrowing on the river Rhee, Cambridgeshire.

The River Rhee, an upper reach of the River Cam, is an excellent example of a degraded lowland agricultural river. A base fed brook, once containing a good population of wild brown trout, it is now lost in its channel and suffering severe siltation problems. Two site visits were made by RRC advisors in February and August 2000 an initial review of options for rehabilitation at the Wendy site was p.....More

River Roding, Ray Lodge Park

Works on the nearby M11 in the 1970’s and 1980’s resulted in the river being artificially diverted and straightened and banks re-reinforced with artificial materials, resulting in poor quality wildlife habitat. The resulting fast flowing and flashy nature of the river also had implications for the survival of fish fry. A partnership project involving the London Borough of Redbridge and the Env.....More

River Wandle, Watermeads Island

Nine hundred metres of ditches were excavated primarily for water vole habitat. Ditches were constructed with steep earth banks and shelves, suitable for digging burrows. Six water level control structures were constructed within the excavated ditches to enable water levels to be controlled to encourage the development of a di verse wetland habitat and to ensure sufficient water is retained in th.....More

River Wensum, Billingford Rehabilitation Project
Restored meander on the Wensum, Billingford. View looking upstream to in-flow of meander.

The River Wensum is a lowland river which rises to the west of Fakenham and flows through predominantly agricultural land joining the River Yare at Norwich. The meander loop was created by the Environment Agency as an ORSU (Off River Supply Unit) in the 1970?s, to provide backwater refuges for fish. Sheet piling was installed on the upstream and downstream end of the meander loop. Over the years .....More

River Wensum, Fakenham Rehabilitation Project
Coir mattress bank revetment on the Wensum, Fakenham. Temporary fencing erected to allow structure to stabilise

Coir mattress bank revetment on the Wensum, Fakenham. Temporary fencing erected to allow structure to stabilise

The River Wensum is a lowland river which rises to the west of Fakenham and flows through predominantly agricultural land joining the River Yare at Norwich. In the centre of Fakenham an area of public open space adjacent to the river Wensum is used by the public for angling and dog walking. Bank erosion has occurred over a 130m section of this section of the Wensum due to over-grazing and trampli.....More

Stoke Brook Floodplain Restoration

Stoney Middleton lies within the Peak District National Park, with Stoke Brook flowing through the centre of the village, joining the River Derwent to the east. In January 2007 a major incident occurred at a mine operated by Glebe Mines, upstream of Stoney Middleton, in which a tailings lagoon burst its banks. Huge volumes of water and fine sediment were washed downstream, through the village an.....More

Stoke Brook Restoration - Riddling Technique

River Glaven, Thornage Common Meadows

The River Glaven is a small chalkstream in north Norfolk. The river flows some 17 km, before finally entering the sea at the tidal sluice at Cley. The gradient is steep for a lowland river. The river and meadows are valuable for wildlife. However the river as a whole has suffered over past decades through changes in farming and land management practices, and policies for flood risk management. .....More

River Evenlode, Blenheim Palace

There are significant recruitment problems in the River Evenlode and its tributaries for rheophilic fish, especially barbel, chub and dace which is partly due to the loss of spawning and nursery sites for these fish. Over many years, this stretch of river has been widened and dredged, resulting in the channel being over-sized (averaging 14m wide and 2m deep) and has few features that provide habit.....More

River Dulais, South West Wales
Live willow tree roots (rootwads) during installation

The River Dulais, a tributary of the River Towy in South West Wales, is a mobile gravel bed river of moderate to high energy, and an important spawning tributary for migratory fish. It is typical of many rivers in that area, where unrestricted grazing, mostly by sheep, has resulted in a loss of bankside vegetation, reduced cover for fish, bank/bed instability and increased erosion.

Tradit.....More

River Cleddau, South West Wales
Bank erosion prior to restoration of the lower section

The River Cleddau in South West Wales is an important spawning tributary for migratory fish. The Cleddau is a mobile gravel bed river of moderate to high energy and in the demonstration area has a history of instability and planform adjustment.

Traditionally, blockstone revetments would be used in higher energy rivers to control bank erosion. However, blockstone removes any scope for mar.....More

River Chess, Meades Water Garden

The River Chess is a classic dip slope chalk stream that flows through the Chilterns AONB, rising from springs near Chesham and flowing south-eastwards for 18km before joining the River Colne. The Meades Water Gardens are a public amenity area through which the River Chess flows. Originally part of a mill pond and subsequently watercress beds, the land was given to the town in the late 1970’s......More

River Ravensbourne, Ladywell Fields

The river Ravensbourne at Ladywell Fields formerly ran along the edge of the park, had been artificially widened and its banks toe-boarded, whilst the river was also hidden behind railings and dense vegetation. As a result it had become largely unnoticed by most park users and had little ecological value. The park itself lacked features and facilities and was under-used, and only 44% users felt .....More

River Wensum at Bintree

The River Wensum is a lowland river which rises to the west of Fakenham and flows through predominantly agricultural land joining the River Yar at Norwich. In the past this section of the Wensum at Bintree Mill has been dredged creating a deepened and over-widened channel with uniform flow, and has suffered from over-grazing and trampling by Limosin cattle. The Bintree Angling Club have ownership.....More

Inchewan Burn Bed Restoration

Inchewan Burn, a tributary of the River Tay, flows through the village of Birnam, Scotland. When the village was bypassed by the A9, a reach of the burn was engineered by encasing it in gabion baskets, providing structural protection for the roadway piers. Reno mattresses were also used to prevent down-cutting by the burn, and concrete walls provide the foundation for the roadway piers. In the.....More

River Brent, Tokyngton Park

Extensive historical flood alleviation works undertaken in the 1940’s and 1970’s led to this section of river being straightened and encased in concrete. The river provided little or no recreational value, whilst the quality of wildlife habitat was poor. In 1999 a partnership was formed, with the aim of carrying out improvements to the park and provide a new lease of life for the river. T.....More

River Cam Habitat and Access Enhancement Project
A restored section upstream of the log-jam

The Cam is a County Wildlife Site and enhancement aims to establish an adjacent 60 hectare Riverside Community Park where 1200 homes will be built in the coming years. The project had an array of partners including South Cambridgeshire District Council, Mott MacDonald, ATPEC Ltd, the RRC, the Environment Agency and the Fen Ditching Company. It is hoped the project will deliver important social and.....More

River Cole, Yardley Brook

Yardley Brook rises in south-east Birmingham and emerges from a culvert onto the floodplain of the Cole in a concrete channel. The catchment is highly urbanised, with over 150,000 people living within 2km of the river. Urban run-off thus causes periodic poor water quality and significant litter. The brook is within an area of public open space. Originally, a sewage outfall, the brook no longer n.....More

River Rother at Shopham Loop
Reconnecting the meander loop and historic canal cut

Shopham Loop is a section of the river Rother, West Sussex between Coultershaw Bridge and Shopham Bridge. A cut was created in the 18th century to bypass the meander and enable passage of boats upstream. However after navigation ceased, the locks were removed and the cut became the main river course with the meander (Shopham Loop) remaining as a backwater. Land use change to an intensive agricu.....More

Highland Water at Warwickslade Lawn

Past river management actions have straightened and deepened rivers. Drainage ditches have resulted in substantial erosion and little seasonal inundation of some of Europe’s most important wetland, grassland and woodland habitats. From 1997 under the EU Life project, the Forestry Commission in collaboration with Natural England, more recently Alaska Environmental Consulting and an array of.....More

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