Case study:River Cole- Life Project: Difference between revisions
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|Picture description=The restored Cole river | |Picture description=The restored Cole river | ||
|Project summary=The River Cole at Coleshill is a tributary of the Thames and flows through National Trust owned farmland, North East of Swindon on the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire border. | |Project summary=The River Cole at Coleshill is a tributary of the Thames and flows through National Trust owned farmland, North East of Swindon on the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire border. | ||
Background: | |||
The river has a long history of modifications and already the Domesday Book of 1086 has a record of a mill in Coleshill. On the earliest map from the area, dated 1666, the river appears to have been straightened for milling. The section downstream of the mill has more recently been enlarged to safeguard agricultural production from flooding. Until the late 1700s, the mill was fed by a small artificial channel carrying water from the Cole, but by 1818 the mill leat had been largely extended to take the entire flow of the Cole, and most of the old river course filled in. This type of historical management is typical of many other rural rivers in the United Kingdom. | |||
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leat] | Restoration: | ||
The River Cole was included in a joint initiative between England and Denmark to demonstrate best practice in urban and rural river rehabilitation and encourage river restoration in Europe. The wider aim was to promote further river restoration and demonstrate how river restoration could provide multiple benefits such as enhancement in wildlife, landscape, recreation, water quality, fisheries, amenities and other local interests. | |||
The restoration of the River Cole was initiated in July 1995. The site consists of a 2.5 km long reach divided into two parts, upstream and downstream of the mill. Upstream of the mill the river was restored to its original course (retaining a small flow in the mill leat) to join the old surviving mill by-pass channel. This new smaller channel encourages beneficial flood storage on the fields and allows fish to pass the mill weir. Downstream the river was reduced in size and remeandered across the old course to a more natural profile, retaining existing mature riverside trees. The restoration of bed level, water level and flood regime was achieved by cutting the new meandering river at a much higher level, similar to that prior to the last major deepening scheme of the 1970s. | |||
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leat] | |||
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{{Image gallery}} | {{Image gallery}} | ||
Revision as of 10:28, 20 February 2014
Project overview
| Status | Complete |
|---|---|
| Project web site | |
| Themes | Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Monitoring, Social benefits |
| Country | England |
| Main contact forename | Martin |
| Main contact surname | Janes |
| Main contact user ID | |
| Contact organisation | River Restoration Centre |
| Contact organisation web site | http://www.therrc.co.uk |
| Partner organisations | Environment Agency, National Trust, Countryside Commission, Natural England |
| Parent multi-site project | |
| This is a parent project encompassing the following projects |
No |
Project summary
The River Cole at Coleshill is a tributary of the Thames and flows through National Trust owned farmland, North East of Swindon on the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire border.
Background: The river has a long history of modifications and already the Domesday Book of 1086 has a record of a mill in Coleshill. On the earliest map from the area, dated 1666, the river appears to have been straightened for milling. The section downstream of the mill has more recently been enlarged to safeguard agricultural production from flooding. Until the late 1700s, the mill was fed by a small artificial channel carrying water from the Cole, but by 1818 the mill leat had been largely extended to take the entire flow of the Cole, and most of the old river course filled in. This type of historical management is typical of many other rural rivers in the United Kingdom.
Restoration: The River Cole was included in a joint initiative between England and Denmark to demonstrate best practice in urban and rural river rehabilitation and encourage river restoration in Europe. The wider aim was to promote further river restoration and demonstrate how river restoration could provide multiple benefits such as enhancement in wildlife, landscape, recreation, water quality, fisheries, amenities and other local interests.
The restoration of the River Cole was initiated in July 1995. The site consists of a 2.5 km long reach divided into two parts, upstream and downstream of the mill. Upstream of the mill the river was restored to its original course (retaining a small flow in the mill leat) to join the old surviving mill by-pass channel. This new smaller channel encourages beneficial flood storage on the fields and allows fish to pass the mill weir. Downstream the river was reduced in size and remeandered across the old course to a more natural profile, retaining existing mature riverside trees. The restoration of bed level, water level and flood regime was achieved by cutting the new meandering river at a much higher level, similar to that prior to the last major deepening scheme of the 1970s.
Monitoring surveys and results
Lessons learnt
Image gallery
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Catchment and subcatchmentSelect a catchment/subcatchment
Catchment
Subcatchment
Site
Project background
Cost for project phases
Reasons for river restoration
Measures
MonitoringHydromorphological quality elements
Biological quality elements
Physico-chemical quality elements
Any other monitoring, e.g. social, economic
Monitoring documents
Additional documents and videos
Additional links and references
Supplementary InformationEdit Supplementary Information
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