Originally spearheaded by former SWT Wetlands Project Manager the late Glen Skelton in partnership with the Environment Agency (EA) and Fishtek, the project group successfully removed a small concrete weir, which was acting as a barrier to the passage of a range of fish species on the river
Although the project only encompassed one of four barriers along the river, project execution and site access proved complex. But a determined and resilient team – comprising the SWT Nature-based Solutions, Ecology Services, Finance and Estates teams alongside Ecosulis – brought the project to fruition to establish a better functioning ecosystem in this river.
Project outcomes
A more natural and varied flow of water through the channel has expanded passage for fish including European Eel and Brown Trout, and additional gravel and rock should facilitate successful spawning and migration upriver on the Tillingbourne.
The team also reprofiled and re-naturalised the river with gravel and a ‘pool and riffle’ sequence to further improve overall biodiversity and support a plethora of freshwater invertebrate species.
Monitoring ecological progress
Before the weir was removed, the Nature-based Solutions team carried out a River Condition Assessment and SWT’s Ecology Services consultancy conducted an Ecological Habitat Baseline Assessment.
In three to five years’ time a post-intervention survey will highlight the impact of changes from a modified channel to a re-naturalised one and assess the regeneration of marginal aquatic plants and vegetation. Likewise, a follow-up assessment of the surrounding habitat will highlight positive change via a Habitat Condition Score. Local fisheries, who were key stakeholders in the project, will be also be tracking changes in fish populations and dynamics.
We’d like to thank the EA for its support, guidance and funding with this project, our contractors Ecosulis & Fishtek, landowner Steve Godwin-Austin and tenant farmer Tom Heylen. Thanks also to the SWT Ecology Services team and South East Rivers Trust.
