Case study:Mayesbrook Climate Change Park restoration project

5.00

(one vote)

To discuss or comment on this case study, please use the discussion page.

Location: 51° 32' 59.97" N, 0° 6' 25.93" E

Edit location

Loading map...

{"format":"googlemaps3","type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"limit":50,"offset":0,"link":"all","sort":[""],"order":[],"headers":"show","mainlabel":"","intro":"","outro":"","searchlabel":"... further results","default":"","import-annotation":false,"width":"auto","height":"400px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[""],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"showtitle":false,"hidenamespace":true,"template":"Location map popup","userparam":"","activeicon":"","pagelabel":false,"ajaxcoordproperty":"","ajaxquery":"","locations":[{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProject Title:\u003C/b\u003E Mayesbrook Climate Change Park restoration project\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECountry:\u003C/b\u003E \u003Ca href=\"/wiki/index.php?title=England\" title=\"England\"\u003EEngland\u003C/a\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProject Status:\u003C/b\u003E Complete\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThemes:\u003C/b\u003E Urban\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Mayesbrook Climate Change Park restoration project","link":"","lat":51.549991192689,"lon":0.10720252990723,"icon":"/wiki/images/a/af/Red_marker.png"}]}

Left click to look around in the map, and use the wheel of your mouse to zoom in and out.

Project overview

Edit project overview

Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Economic aspects, Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Monitoring, Social benefits, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Nick
Main contact surname	Elbourne
Main contact user ID	User:NickRRC
Contact organisation	River Restoration Centre
Contact organisation web site	http://www.therrc.co.uk
Partner organisations	Thames Rivers Trust, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Environment Agency, Queen Mary University of London, Natural England, Design for London, Greater London Authority, London Wildlife Trust, RSA (Insurance), SITA Trust, Mayesbrook Park Friends group
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Mayesbrook Park river restoration, middle reach restored. July 2012. Photo courtesy of LBBD.

Project summary

Edit project overview to modify the project summary.

Introduction
The river restoration project is part of the UK’s first ‘Climate Change Park’ at Mayesbrook in Barking, east London. The project aimed to transform a rundown 45 hectare park into a showcase of how public greenspace can help a community to cope with the risks from climate change; such as increased flooding and higher summer temperatures. The Mayesbrook Climate Change Park was delivered by an innovative partnership of public, private and voluntary organisations. By combining staff, funding and technical resources the partners were able to deliver a project that no one partner could have done alone. Funding received a major boost in 2009 when RSA donated £300,000 to the project through Thames Rivers Trust as a research contribution into natural flood management and reducing flood risk through a low carbon approach. The RSA donation also helped lever in a further £400,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s ‘Help a London Park’ campaign.

At the launch of the works in March 2011, Richard Benyon the Minister for the Natural Environment at DEFRA said: “The Mayesbrook Climate Change Park is a shining example of the public and private sectors working in partnership. This project will be a great boost for the local communities and the environment. By bringing the Mayes Brook back into the park, planting trees and creating a wetland, this park will provide not only a great space for local people, but also the perfect habitat for wildlife. I look forward to coming back and seeing the progress of this fantastic project in the years to come.” In his speech the Minister also said that the project was showing “how to achieve more for less, which is important in today’s economic climate” and that the project was “good value for money by anybody’s standards”.

What did the project involve?
The first phase of the works has resulted in a significantly improved park in a borough which is one of the twenty most deprived in the UK. The Mayes Brook which formerly lay in a concrete channel has been brought out into the park along its 1.6 km length. This has improved its wildlife and recreational value. A new one-hectare floodplain has been excavated along the restored brook to naturally and safely store the increased floodwater expected in the area in future. In addition, separate Thames Water work to remedy misconnected drains has dramatically improved the quality of the water in the brook. New trees now cover the equivalent of three football pitches, to give shade, help cool the area and provide a home for more wildlife. New footpaths, entrance ways and signage allow the public to better use the park.

Next steps
Phase 2 of the project will be led by Barking and Dagenham Council and will run from 2012 to 2014 and onwards. It is planned to include a café surrounded by a climate change garden of drought resistant plants. A display in cafe will explain how all of the improvements to the park help adaptation to climate change. The display will also help people change their own lives to better cope with climate change impacts. Two polluted lakes in the park will be cleaned up, to better cool the area and to increase wildlife. One lake will have boating restored, with angling reintroduced on the other.

Howard Davidson, Director of the Environment Agency South East, said: “Mayesbrook is already providing valuable lessons about how to plan for climate change, how to do it in partnership and how to spread the cost to make it affordable.”

Monitoring surveys and results

This case study hasn’t got any Monitoring survey and results, you can add some by editing the project overview.

Lessons learnt

This case study hasn’t got any lessons learnt, you can add some by editing the project overview.

Image gallery

Edit Image gallery

Jubilee planting event, March 2012

Safer Parks Silver Award 2012

Visualising the project at a public consultation event, 2009

Public consultation event, 2009

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Site Edit site Name Mayesbrook Park WFD water body codes GB106037028170 WFD (national) typology Low, Small, Calcareous WFD water body name Seven Kings Water Pre-project morphology Straightened, Over deepened, Artificial channel Reference morphology Run-glide, Low gradient passively meandering Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body Yes National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present No Invasive species present No Species of interest Dominant hydrology Flashy Dominant substrate Bedrock, Gravel, Silt River corridor land use Parklands garden Average bankfull channel width category 2 - 5 m Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category 0.5 - 2 m Average bankfull channel depth (m) Mean discharge category Mean annual discharge (m3/s) Average channel gradient category Average channel gradient Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) 16001,600 m <br />1.6 km <br />160,000 cm <br /> Project started 2008/01/01 Works started 2011/03/01 Works completed 2012/10/31 Project completed 2011/10/31 Total cost category 1000 - 5000 k€ Total cost (k€) 38003,800 k€ <br />3,800,000 € <br /> Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Environment Agency, Thames Rivers Trust, RSA (insurance), Natural England, Greater London Authority, SITA Trust, London Wildlife Trust, DEFRA Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Stakeholder engagement and communication 1 - 10 k€ London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Ruth Taylor Works and works supervision 1000 - 5000 k€ London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Alex Farris Post-project management and maintenance 10 - 50 k€ London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Matt Wilson Monitoring 10 - 50 k€ River Restoration Centre Nick Elbourne Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Flood risk management, Biodiversity and Habitats Hydromorphology Channel pattern/planform, Reconnecting floodplain, Quantity & dynamics of flow, Substrate conditions Biology Fish, Invertebrates, Macrophytes and/or phytobenthos: Average abundance, Birds, Bats Physico-chemical Water quality Other reasons for the project Social benefits, Climate change adaptation, Community demand, Landscape enhancement, Recreation Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Recovering connectivity longitudinal and transversal, Recovery of channel morphology, Adding sinuosity, Bank re-grading, Creation of pools and riffles Floodplain / River corridor Floodplain reconnection, Recovery riparian vegetation, Reconnect and restore historic aquatic habitats, Sustainable urban drainage ponds (SUDs), Excavating floodplain scrapes Planform / Channel pattern Improvement of channel morphology, Creation of backwater, Reconstruction of a meandering stretch, Reedbed creation to filter outfall water quality Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Fencing, Monitoring strategy Social measures (incl. engagement) Awareness campaigns, Improved public access Other Public consultation Monitoring Hydromorphological quality elements Edit Hydromorphological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Channel pattern/planform Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Improvement Width & depth variation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Improvement Quantity & dynamics of flow Yes Yes Yes No No Improvement Biological quality elements Edit biological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Fish Yes No No Yes Yes Invertebrates Yes Yes No Yes Yes Improvement Macrophytes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Inconclusive Physico-chemical quality elements Edit Physico-chemical quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Any other monitoring, e.g. social, economic Edit Other responses Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Bat Survey Yes Yes No Yes No Improvement Birds, butterflies and dragonflies Yes Yes No Yes No Improvement Habitat mapping Yes Yes Yes No No Improvement Public use Yes Yes Yes Yes No Improvement River Corridor Survey Yes Yes Yes Yes No Awaiting results Landscape enhancement Yes Yes Yes No No Improvement Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description http://www.theriverstrust.org/projects/water/Mayes%20brook%20restoration.pdf The Mayes Brook restoration in Mayesbrook Park, East London: an ecosystem services assessment http://cdn.environment-agency.gov.uk/scho0610bsow-e-e.pdf Environment Agency press release - "The additional benefits of river restoration" http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/12352252 Mayesbrook Park - Green Infrastructure Case Study: Creating the UK’s first climate change park in east London Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information