21. Gerrard's Cross Golf Club - Channel restoration

Aims: Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve wildlife corridors; Work together

Water body: River Misbourne
Project description

Project to remove weirs and concrete lining of river channel, enhance habitat and improve access for golf club users.

The River Misbourne corridor through Gerrard's Cross Golf Course was over-wide, concrete lined, with a lack of vegetation diversity.  All in channel vegetation was being removed to make golf ball retrieval easier and all the bankside vegetation was mown very close to the ground, offering limited river corridor habitat.

Work was undertaken to restore the natural bed and banks, by breaking out and removing the concrete.  A combination of marginal shelves and woody material features were employed to establish more diversity in channel morphology.  Selective management of vegetation of naturally established plants was carried out to encourage a diverse range of species, and to discourage plants from growing over the whole channel in low flows.

Project lead: Environment Agency
Project partners: Chilterns Chalk Streams Project, Gerrard's Cross, Golf Club, Chiltern Society
Contact for more information: Nancy Young

Design by LTD Design Consultants and build by Garganey Consulting. From an original concept by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.