Improvement Works to the Beverley Brook
Improvements to the Beverley Brook
The first event in our 2018 calendar was our Winter Talk and the subject of the talk, given by South East Rivers Trust was "Reviving London's Rivers - challenges and successes in SW London". The aim of the talk was to put our river, the Beverley Brook, into a wider context with an overview of London’s rivers, and then more specifically, the work to the Brook in Richmond Park to make it a more natural flowing water course.
The talk also discussed the possibility of whether a similar project could be carried out here on the Commons.
Well, that possibility has become a reality!
The South East Rivers Trust raised some £100,000 over the last year through various funding streams (no pun intended) to fund the project and from 1st January to 1st March 2019, an extensive programme of works will be carried out along the Beverley Brook on Wimbledon Common to help restore the natural processes which will enable the river to ‘self- heal’ and become a fully functioning riverine ecosystem.
As part of this work, selected tree removal will be carried out in order to remove excessive shading, channel narrowing will be carried out to create pools, certain banks will be re-graded and areas of gravel will be restored along the river bed to help with fish spawning.
Working in partnership with the South East Rivers Trust all of the work that will be carried out on the Common has been externally funded by the Environment Agency and Landfill Tax Grants. This project is also fully supported by Natural England which is the non-departmental public body responsible for ensuring that England’s natural environments are protected and improved.
Our Maintenance team have already started to undertake some of the tree works required and once the main work starts, there will be some temporary disruption to visitors as the footpath will need to be closed for safety reasons. Alternative routes will be signposted. We apologise for this disruption but hope you can bear with us whilst we undertake this very special project to enhance this area.
Further information on this project can be found here:
South East Rivers Trust Project Proposal
Project Overview by our Conservation & Engagement Officer, Peter Haldane