In this section
Restoring the River Colne
In-River Improvements
The ‘Rediscovering the River Colne’ programme aims to enhance the river for both nature and visitors to once again enjoy and value this key natural asset. We plan to do this by focussing on four major points:
- Habitat and Access – Provide an improvement strategy for the following sites: Knutsford Playing Fields, Riverside Recreation Ground, Timberlake Allotments, Waterfields Recreation Ground and Radlett Road Recreation Ground.
- Environmental Monitoring – Provide a robust citizen science monitoring programme that will engage local volunteers in monitoring the health of the river as it improves throughout the project.
- Site Maintenance – Provide a detailed maintenance programme to ensure that the benefits delivered at each site are maintained and further enhanced on an ongoing basis.
- Community Engagement – A fully inclusive engagement strategy will be implemented to ensure the people of Watford are involved with each element of the project we deliver. Visit our ‘Volunteering Opportunities’ page for more information.
Many thanks to our delivery partner Groundwork and other stakeholders who are helping with this very detailed work, including:
- Hertsmere Borough Council: https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/
- Affinity Water: https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/home
- Environment Agency: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
- ColneCAN: https://www.colnecan.org.uk/
- Colne Valley Fisheries Consultative: https://www.cvfc.org.uk/cvfc2021/
- Community Connections Programme
- Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust: https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/
- Veolia UK: https://www.veolia.co.uk/
- Watford Green Gym: https://www.tcv.org.uk/london/green-gym-london/watford-green-gym/
- Salix: https://www.salixrw.com/
- Arup: https://www.arup.com/
Site plans, reports and designs
Volunteering River Reporting Guide
Improvement Plans
- Lairage Land LNR River Improvement Plan
- Oxhey Park River Improvement Plan
- Knutsford Playing Fields River Improvement Plan
- Riverside Recreation Ground River Improvement Plan
- Timberlake Allotments River Improvement Plan
- Waterfields Recreation Ground River Improvement Plan
- Radlett Road Recreation Ground River Improvement Plan
Reports
- Community Engagement Report
- Landscape & Access Improvement Report
- Summary Report
- Environmental Monitoring Project
- Water Quality Report
Site Plans
- Lairage Land LNR Site Plan
- Oxhey Park Site Plan
- Knutsford Playing Fields Site Plan
- Radlett Road Recreation Ground Site Plan
- Riverside Park Site Plan
- Tesco and Disconnect Site Plan
- Timberlake Allotments Site Plan
- Waterfields Recreation Ground Site Plan
- River Colne walks and sites of interest
