River Cole at Cole End Park – Project Proposal

Through the Love Your River Cole (LYRiC) project, we aim to improve biodiversity and enhance habitats along the river Cole, which is an important river for local ecology and wildlife.

Cole End Park is an important space for wildlife and the local community. Historically, the river Cole at Cole End Park has been subject to modifications such as deepening, straightening and widening of the channel, and disconnection of the channel from its floodplain. These modifications are considered to have had detrimental impacts on the river habitats and flooding issues in the local area.

We  propose to restore more natural features to the river Cole, to start to reverse these historic changes and bring the river Cole into a healthier ecological state – better for wildlife and for people.

Working with CBEC Eco Engineering, we have conducted feasibility studies and reports to help guide the best way to restore the river Cole to a more natural state. These opportunities will be reviewed following stakeholder consultation to ensure the best approach is taken for the environment and community. All measures will be fully flood modelled to ensure restoration interventions will not increase flood risk to nearby properties.

The images below are visualisations created to show what the river Cole could look like after this work is complete. We envision a river that is better for wildlife, withstands climate change, and provides great benefits to the local community.

Our proposed river restoration measures are:

1. To help create a more natural river profile by adding natural features to the channel and reprofiling riverbanks
2. To increase river-floodplain connectivity to improve flood storage capacity
3. To enhance local biodiversity by removing invasive species, planting trees and re-planting disturbed areas with native plants

We anticipate these measures to result in the following benefits from the environment and community:

1. A healthier river Cole which is better able to withstand climate change and provide excellent habitats for wildlife
2. Potential reduction in flood risk due to enhanced water storage
3. Improved public access to the river Cole, enhancing people’s wellbeing and connection with nature
4. More opportunities to bring the community together with volunteering and education activities

We value your opinions as part of the local community, and we are keen to engage with as many people as possible as part of this project. If you have any questions about our proposed work, please do get in touch with us by emailing enquiries@tamevalleywetlands.co.uk.