12. Rediscovering the River Colne
Aims: Control invasive non-native species; Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve wildlife corridors; Improve water quality; Manage flow; Work together
Water body: River Colne
Project description
Rediscovering the River Colne is a ground breaking project that aspires to bring the River Colne to the heart of Watford Town and its people.
This 10 year project will see the Colne corridor become a positive asset within the borough, enabling it to reach its full potential for both local people and wildlife.
The project will provide sustainable solutions to resolve the issues affecting the river and to regenerate the public spaces it flows through. We aspire to providing a healthy river corridor, with clean water, diverse wildlife and low flood risk that is accessible to all and of high amenity value to local people.
Currently, the project will provide a habitat and access improvement strategy for the following public sites within the area covered by Watford Borough Council:
- Knutsford Playing Fields
- Radlett Road Playing Fields
- Timberlake Allotments
- Waterfields Recreation Ground
- Oxhey Park
- Riverside Recreation Ground
- Riverside Park
- Lairage Land (Local Nature Reserve)
A River Improvement Plan will be produced for each site and will make recommendations based on the results of the environmental surveys and stakeholder consultation exercises. A landscape strategy will be developed to identify all potential environmental, access and interpretation enhancements along the river. An Environmental Monitoring Project will be implemented to engage local people and stakeholders with monitoring the health of the river. The project will upskill and train the people of Watford in a range of environmental monitoring techniques, allowing them to directly contribute to the regeneration of the Colne Corridor and to gain an understanding of citizen science.
Project lead: Watford Borough Council
Project partners: The Colne Catchment Action Network
Contact for more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Project start: 2019
Project end: 2029
Funding source: Watford Borough Council
