Improved water quality

The Environment Agency, Manchester City Council and the Irwell Rivers Trust had undertaken works to renaturalise a section of the River Medlock running through Manchester. The project had sought to return the river to its natural state by widening the channel and replacing the Victorian brick lining with gravel that provides a more natural-looking and fish-friendly section of the river and reduces flood risk at the same time (ref. 3). The project was also being seen as an EU exemplar of how to go about restoring an urban river (ref. 1, ref. 7).

The Connswater Community Greenway has created a 9km linear park project in East Belfast following the course of the Connswater, Knock and Loop Rivers, connecting the open and green spaces. As part of the project the Connswater River will be cleaned and brought back to life. The Greenway will create attractive, safe and accessible parkland for recreation and community activities. The project will improve the quality of life for the people of east Belfast as a whole new greener environment will emerge. (Ref1)

Connswater Community Greenway is a visionary urban regeneration project that is transforming East Belfast by combining improved flood protection with the creation of public spaces and pedestrian/ cycle routes that connect communities. (Ref 6)

The Carbon Landscape is a pioneering project in landscape restoration in Wigan, Warrington and Salford. Led by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, it will revitalize a landscape left devastated by decades of coal-mining and peat extraction (Ref 5). It works to restore key habitats and reconnect local people with their unique natural heritage, preserving it for future generations. The restoration of the peat base to lowland raised bog provided an opportunity for carbon sequestration and storage (Ref 1). There is a strong vision to reconnect local people with their rich natural heritage, creating opportunities and a sense of pride in the local area (Ref 4).

City of Trees is an innovative movement set to re-invigorate Greater Manchester’s landscape by transforming underused woodland and planting a tree for every person who lives there (ref 1). Manchester City of Trees had undertaken work to improve water quality of a tributary of Worsley Brook through channel naturalisation and create wet woodland in the Cleavleys Nursery. The discharge from the tributary caused water quality failures in Worsley Brook under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (Ref 3). This project allowed the stream to take a more natural course through the woodland and the waterlogged woods provide habitats to species and remedy these water quality issues (Ref 3).

The catchment includes the River Avon (a major resource for recreational activities and public water supply) and its various tributaries. Coventry is the largest urban area in the catchment, and the catchment has a high value for wildlife. (Ref. 1)
Main priorities include engaging communities to take ownership of their local water environment, reducing urban and rural pollution; delivering enhancement projects in the 3 Priority Areas (e.g. Coventry Brooks) and Returning water corridors to a near-natural state. (Ref. 2). The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) is a Government policy framework that empowers local action to improve the water environment through community partnerships. A renewed focus on the catchment-based approach has led to Catchment Partnerships (i.e. The Warwickshire Avon Catchment Partnership) being set up to drive local delivery of these projects. (Ref. 3)

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has completed an urban river restoration on the Guphill Brook that aims to restore the brook's natural features and enhance the surrounding habitat. "The project [is expected to] bring multiple benefits to diminishing wildlife and deprived local communities but also importantly to flood risk reduction, which is becoming ever more important with the increased negative effects of climate change." (Ref. 1)

Revival is a partnership which is committed to delivering improvements for wildlife and people on the Lower Don catchment from the Don Gorge to Goole. It enables organisations over a whole host of different sectors to come together and work under one shared vision: create a committed partnership delivering improvements for wildlife and people on the Lower Don catchment. This intervention is thus a change in the governance of natural areas in and around Doncaster that leads to projects, rather than being a specific project itself. The River Don Revival project will continue to fight for the river’s future. Firstly, an action plan will layout the manual work necessary to improve the river and the catchment as a whole. In addition, the partnership intends to work with a scheme called the NW Water Rangers to encourage the public to engage in citizen science, collecting evidence of poor water quality. The partnership will also work closely with the South Follingsby Park development to implements Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, to create new habitats and to improve the river itself. Finally, the partnership hopes to appoint a dedicated member of staff to oversee all of the work taking place on the Don. (Ref 1, 2, 7).

"The Coventry Water Vole Project aims to improve Coventry’s waterways and riverside habitat for water voles." "Water voles are Britain's most severely threatened mammal. Numbers have declined by as much as 95% in Warwickshire in recent years due to threats such as habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, poisoning, and predation.” "The Coventry Water Vole Project has focused on the control of the non-native and highly invasive plant Himalayan balsam, followed by replanting some riverside areas with native 'water vole friendly' wetland plants." (Ref. 1)

The park has been upgraded to include newly planted trees and shrubs, a meadow, children playgrounds, sitting areas for adult visitors, a wooden footbridge, and a water retention pond which collects rainwater from the roofs of nearby houses. The aim of the project was to establish and restore near-natural vegetation in the urbanized area, enhance biodiversity at the site, handle rainwater in a smart way, and provide a place for recreation (Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref 4). Additional restorations have included the creation of barbecue areas for gathering and cooking, and events are hosted at the space as well (Ref 8). Through voting, wider park expansions have also been approved (Ref 9).

In an effort to improve the Holásecká lakes for both recreation and local natural conditions, the revitalization project has modified areas on the shores of the Holásecké lakes reconstructed culverts between the lakes, and removed the panel which fortified the Opleta and Lávka lakes (Ref. 4). The largest restoration activity includes removal of mud from the lakes (which can be repurposed due to low contamination) for the sake of ecologically restoring the area (Ref. 4). Plans also include improving recreation by installing wooden piers and developing a paved footpath with benches (Ref. 1). The ecological restoration will be important for wildlife, especially birds and amphibians (Ref. 8).