Case study:Heybarnes Recreation Ground Cole Restoration

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Catchment

River basin district	Humber
River basin	Tame Anker and Mease

Subcatchment

River name	R Cole from Springfield to Hatchford-Kingshurst Brook
Area category	10 - 100 km²
Area (km2)
Maximum altitude category	100 - 200 m
Maximum altitude (m)	154154 m <br />0.154 km <br />15,400 cm <br />
Dominant geology	Calcareous
Ecoregion	Great Britain
Dominant land cover	Suburban
Waterbody ID	GB104028042502

Other case studies in this subcatchment: Babbs Mill reed bed

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Location: 52° 28' 4.69" N, 1° 49' 53.11" W

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Land use management - agriculture, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Emily
Main contact surname	Farrell
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Ebsford Environmental Ltd
Contact organisation web site	http://https://ebsford.co.uk/
Partner organisations	Enviornment Agency, University of Birmingham
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Project picture

Project summary

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The River Cole is 34km in length, rising in northeast Worcestershire then flowing in a north easterly direction through Birmingham before joining the River Blythe in North Warwickshire. During the late Victorian era a section of the river in east Birmingham was diverted into a gun-barrel straight, engineered millstream and the original river was lost. During the summer of 2024 we undertook a project to transform a 1km section of this featureless millstream to allow it to behave more like a naturally functioning river. By re-profiling the banks and introducing a range of features including mid-channel bars, inset berms, large woody material and gravels we have kick started natural process. By making space for the river the forces of erosion and deposition, previously shackled, have now been freed. These introduced features will transform the uniform flow of this subreach with the development of pool-riffle sequences and flow variability. With time this engineered Victorian millstream will begin to resemble the original sinuous river that it replaced over 100 years ago.

Monitoring surveys and results

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Baseline MoRPh10 survey undertaken in June 2022. Data available on Cartographer website Post-project MoRPh10 survey to be undertaken in summer 2025

Lessons learnt

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Image gallery

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Site Edit site Name Heybarnes Recreation Ground WFD water body codes GB104028042502 WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Cole from Springfield to Hatchford-Kingshurst Brook Water Body Pre-project morphology Straightened Reference morphology Desired post project morphology Low gradient passively meandering Heavily modified water body No National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present Yes Invasive species present Yes Species of interest Brown trout (Salmo trutta), bullhead (Cottus gobio) Dominant hydrology Quick run-off Dominant substrate Gravel River corridor land use Parklands garden Average bankfull channel width category Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category 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) 970970 m <br />0.97 km <br />97,000 cm <br /> Project started Works started 2024-06-24 Works completed 2024-08-09 Project completed Total cost category 100 - 500 k€ Total cost (k€) Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources EA WEIF, WMCA Community Green Grant, University of Birmingham Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Urbanisation, Invasive species Hydromorphology Quantity & dynamics of flow, Substrate conditions Biology Fish, Invertebrates, Macrophytes Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Landscape enhancement, Community demand Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Monitoring Hydromorphological quality elements Edit Hydromorphological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Biological quality elements Edit biological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative 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 Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information