1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Liverpool
Region
Europe
Short description of the intervention
Larkhill Gardens Lake improvement is a collaborative project between the City Council, the Environment Agency and the local community. It is part of the long-term project, Liverpool Park Lakes Project, whose aim is to tackle many problems faced by shallow park lakes. Larkhill Gardens Lake (4936m2) a circular shaped, steep, vertical hard-banked lake, situated in a small estates garden in the city. Like many lakes, Larkhill Gardens Lake experienced problems linked to structural decline, lack of water, poor water quality, poor habitat quality, loss of management of the user and lack of proactive management by the City Council. The improvement of the lake included changing its structure to create a deep-water fishing area, shallow water area and wetland.
The project was funded by a partnership between Liverpool City Council and the Environment Agency (Reference 1).
Address

Liverpool
United Kingdom

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary
POINT (-2.930104 53.432826)
POINT (-2.929686 53.433075)
POINT (-2.929391 53.43273)
POINT (-2.929257 53.432641)
POINT (-2.929579 53.432305)
POINT (-2.930191 53.4322)
POINT (-2.930341 53.432539)
POINT (-2.930126 53.432574)
POINT (-2.930062 53.432903)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
captured from Googlemaps
Total area
4936.00m²
NBS area
4936.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
Lake
Website of the intervention
https://liverpool.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-wellbeing/parks-and-greenspaces/lark…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
unknown
End date of the intervention
1999
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
The Lark Hill Park Lake project Phase I was completed at the end of June 1999. (reference 3)
Goals of the intervention
The project was designed to reverse the decline of one of the few remaining environmental attractions in a densely populated urban area. It was to address the problems associated with:
1. structural decline: 2. lack of water; 3. poor water quality; 4. poor habitat quality; 5. loss of management of the user, 6. lack of proactive management (ref 4)
Quantitative targets
unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
invertebrate diversity (reference 1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Improvements to water quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Inclusive governance
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental education
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable production
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Means for conservation governance
Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
Public engagement
Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation
Capacity building
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Implementation activities
The lake’s structure was changed to create a deep-water fishing area, shallow water area and wetland. Water supply was addressed through the installation of a borehole; an outflow was fitted with a topwater level and a summer water level within the wetland, a previously adjacent area of land prone to flooding. The bank profiles were reduced and marginal planting undertaken by the use of locally sourced native species. Access and reduction of user conflict was facilitated by the incorporation of a boardwalk and fishing platform (Reference 1)
Type of NBS project
Improved governance of green or blue areas
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Blue infrastructure
Lakes/ponds
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Regulating services
Flood regulation
Habitat and supporting services
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
A collaborative project between the City Council, the Environment Agency and the local community. approved by the Park Lakes Advisory Forum (P.L.A.F.) - The City Council formed a Park Lakes Advisory Forum (P.L.A.F.) to co-ordinate public, private and community involvement. P.L.A.F. approved the lake refurbishment project at Larkhill Gardens. They are encouraging community ownership of the project. (Ref 1)
Key actors - initiating organization
National government
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
It is a part of the programme under the Local Environment Agency Plans (LEAPs) by the Environment Agency (ref 2)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Liverpool Park Lakes Fisheries Development Program (Reference 4)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Biodiversity strategy or plan
Water regulation strategy
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Park Lakes Forum are involved in the Lark Hill project. (ref 3)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public national budget
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Risk reduction model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Process innovation
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
-Extensive physical improvement works have been undertaken at Larkhill gardens with the resulting fishery now supporting balanced fish stocks and a wide variety of aquatic and marsh plants (REF2)
- The lake’s structure was changed to create a deep-water fishing area, shallow water area and wetland. (reference 4)
-Water supply was addressed through the installation of a borehole (reference 4)
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Lark Hill Park Lake is to be the "Flag Ship" project for the whole restoration process. The lake was chosen, in the first place, as it is the smallest of all the main park lakes, but incorporates all the problems (ref 3)
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Increased protection against flooding
Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
As a result of the intervention, the lake's invertebrate diversity has increased (ref. 1), and the Larkhill gardens have all seen considerable improvements both in terms of fish stock management and site improvement (Ref. 2).
Extensive physical improvement works have been undertaken at Larkhill gardens with the resulting fishery now supporting balanced fish stocks and a wide variety of aquatic and marsh plants (Ref. 2). The lake’s structure was changed to create a deep-water fishing area, shallow water area and wetland (ref. 1).
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
No economic impacts were mentioned in references.
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Education
Increased support for education and scientific research
Description of social and cultural benefits
Access and reduction of user conflict were facilitated by the incorporation of a boardwalk and fishing platform (ref. 1);
The lake is now very attractive and well used by the local community (Ref.4, the year 2000), and the project was aimed to serve as a platform for the conservation of wetland area - and works as a teaching aid for local youth on an organized basis (Ref. 3).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown

Environmental, social and economic impacts
Water management (SDG 6)
Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of August 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Collection of monitoring data at specific time intervals during the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
city council link
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Environment Agency - LOWER MERSEY LEAP ANNUAL REVIEW. (2.74 MB) 2.74 MB
Annual report - fisheries in the north west (6.85 MB) 6.85 MB
2001 annual report fisheries in the north west (1.81 MB) 1.81 MB
abstracts_ser2000_liverpool.pdf (705.63 KB) 705.63 KB
EA North West Fisheries Annual Report 2000 (7.78 MB) 7.78 MB
List of references
1. Society for Ecological restoration Liverpool 2000. (2012). Reflections on the past directions for the future. Accessed at http://www.academia.edu/2755410/Ecological_restoration_and_indigenous_conservation_knowledge_fire_life_and_human_traditions_in_landscape_management.
2. Environment Agency. (2001). LOWER MERSEY LEAP ANNUAL REVIEW. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.environmentdata.org/fedora/repository/ealit:1004/OBJ/20001108.pdf.
3. Aquatic commons. 1998. Annual Summary of fisheries in the north west incorporating the fishery statistics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://aquaticcommons.org/8091/1/149_EA.pdf.
4. Environmental Agency. (2000). North West Fisheries Annual Report 2000. Available at: http://aquaticcommons.org/8093/1/151_EA_pdf.pdf
Comments and notes
Comments
No new information/references were found about the project.
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/larkhillliverpool-.jpg