Love Your River Cole (LYRiC)
The River Cole is a 34 km long tributary of the River Tame
that flows between East Birmingham, North Solihull and
North Warwickshire. Through the Love Your River Cole
project, we are helping to revive nature in the River Cole
and Cole Valley and reconnect communities with its wildlife.
The River Cole provides valuable habitat for a range of flora and fauna. However, the habitat has been damaged by historic development, poor management, invasive species and pollution.
Nevertheless, the valley is a brilliant haven for wildlife, as well as a highly valued green space for the diverse communities living alongside it. The river corridor has the potential to be a valuable blue and green corridor for nature.
Love Your River Cole (LYRiC) is a series of projects working to restore nature to the River Cole, to create bigger and better habitats for wildlife and a more enjoyable place for people to connect with nature.
The work being carried out by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and the Tame Valley Wetlands team through LYRiC is based on the Cole Valley Catchment Landscape Vision (CVCLV) Report, which sets out a strategy to bring back nature to the Cole Valley corridor.
2020-2022: ERDF Small Habitats Grants / Environment Agency
Through Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council's Small Habitats Grants, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Environment Agency, we delivered total of 8.295 hectares of habitat improvements to the River Cole in Solihull.
Work was focussed on Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) removal at key sites, the creation of two Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) at Babbs Mill and Cole Bank Park, riverbank reprofiling at Cole Bank Park, and gravel introduction into the Kingshurst Brook. Educational sessions with local schools and community groups helped more people learn about and connect with nature.
The project supported environmental benefits, and helped local communities connect more closely with nature on their doorsteps.
2020-2022: Green Recovery Challenge Fund
The Green Recovery Challenge Fund, from National Lottery Heritage Fund, supported the delivery of the Love Your River Cole Project with a wide range of partners, providing benefits to people and nature throughout the Cole Valley Catchment.
Through the project the Tame Valley Wetlands team worked with delivery partners at Birmingham and the Black Country Wildlife Trust, Castle Bromwich Historic Gardens Trust, The Prince's Trust, B37 Project CIC, Birmingham City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and North Warwickshire Borough Council.
The project included capital works to enhance biodiversity and improve access to nature at four key sites along the valley – Glebe Farm Recreation Ground, Castle Bromwich Parkland, Meriden Park and Cole End Park. It also included a varied training programme, including 6 one-year long traineeships, a suite of training sessions for 16 to 24 year olds run by The Prince’s Trust, and training events for staff, volunteers and the general public.
LYRiC helped to reconnect local people with the green spaces around them.
Tree planting, wildflower meadow creation and wetland habitat enhancements helped to boost biodiversity and create more habitats for nature in local green spaces. Improvements to paths and trails through the key sites allowed more people to connect with nature in their areas. Training and learning events created more champions for nature along the River Cole, helping to secure a positive future for the river and its communities.
A series of mini vlogs were created through the LYRiC project, working with local videographer and film-maker Simon Watts.
2024: Network for Nature - River Cole Feasibility Study
Through the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts' Network for Nature Project, a grant funded project supported by National Highways, we commissioned a feasibility study to scope and plan river restoration and habitat improvement work to the River Cole in Coleshill.
Consultants at cbec Eco Engineering worked with us to identify a variety of opportunities for the River Cole, to deliver big benefits to wildlife and people.
This feasibility study will help to inform and plan future work on the River Cole. All aspects of any work to be completed will be fully modelled and tested to ensure there are no negative impacts on flooding.
2025 - present: Love Your River Cole - Chelmesley Wood to Coleshill
Funding from the Environment Agency has helped us begin another phase to the LYRiC project, focussing on the stretch of river from Babbs Mill, Chelmesley Wood, to Cole End Park, Coleshill.
Historically, this section of the River Cole 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.
Through our planned work, we will restore more natural features to the river Cole, to start to reverse these changes and bring the river Cole into a healthier ecological state – better for wildlife and for people.
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 following photos, created by consultants at cbec Eco Engineering, demonstrate what a restored River Cole could look like at Cole End Park, Coleshill. The added meanders (bends) in the river create more habitat variation, and planting of plants and trees along the river will provide valuable homes and food for wildlife in the area.
