The purpose of this investment is to demonstrate how, through innovative design, these problems can be diminished on a multi-functional canal. The project will involve the restoration of a demonstration length (c. 500m) of the Cotswold Canals, an historic watercourse which has been derelict and abandoned for over 50 years.
The Cotswold Canals run 59km through the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (the South West region of England), through the semi-urban market town of Stroud as well as through extensive stretches of countryside. Stroud suffers from poor economic vibrancy and areas of dereliction and is thus in need of regeneration. In particular, the town does not capitalise on tourism to the region.
Restoration of the Cotswold Canals will link the Stroud with towns to the east, west and north, as well as with the River Thames. It will serve a recreational function (boating, walking, cycling), encourage more visitors to the area, serve a water management function (including supplying ‘grey’ and possibly drinking water to local industry and homes), and have high built and natural heritage value. A feasibility study has also demonstrated the economic value of restoring the canals: brownfield sites adjacent to the canal will be restored for residential and commercial use, several hundred jobs will be created, and an additional 8 million Euros per annum will be introduced into the local community through extra tourism.
The planned investment is a demonstration project that will not generate revenue. The investment will eventually form a small part (c. 500m) of the full restoration of a 16km length of canal. This larger scheme is expected to generate an income from the year 2015 onwards through the sale of boat licenses, boat moorings, angling licenses, wayleaves, and surface water discharge fees. However, as BW is a not-for-profit organisation and thus any earned income will be re-invested in Britain’s publicly-owned waterway network.
The urban part of the Cotswold Canals has been infilled in several places and this infill is known to contain serious contaminants (e.g. asbestos). Many minor feeders empty into the canal, which will carry suspended solids, heavy metals and organic contaminants (including possibly sewage) into the water channel once it is restored. This investment will demonstrate an integrated package of tools (e.g. settling lagoons, oil interceptors, etc) for filtering these substances from the watercourse, thus allowing the recreational and ecological value of the water to be maximised.
The purpose of this investment is to demonstrate how, through innovative design, the problems caused by minor feeders can be diminished on a multi-functional canal. The project will involve the restoration of a demonstration length (c. 500m) of the Cotswold Canals to a design that integrates recreational, water storage and environmental requirements.
British Waterways is confident that the restoration of the canal will neither be the cause of, nor spread, contaminants beyond their current level. Indeed, the project is considered a means of actively reducing contamination in the Stroud valleys. Nevertheless, it is critical that as a statutory body British Waterways takes the appropriate steps to minimise any potential risk. This it will do in the following ways: form a collaborative partnership with the UK's statutory environmental regulater, the Environment Agency (this has already been achieved); undertake a contaminated land survey in June 2004; prepare a risk assessment using the results of the survey. The outcome of the risk assessment will be taken into account.
The demonstration length will include a package of methods for filtering silt and contaminants before they reach the canal channel, possibly including the use of:
- silt traps
- emergent vegetation filtering systems
- oil interceptors
- specific channel profiles
- and settling lagoons.
The investment is expected to demonstrate the range of benefits that can be achieved, including: enhanced aquatic biodiversity (reedbed creation, reduced algal bloom, reduced biochemical oxygen demand, etc), greater water storage capacity, integrated recreation opportunities, and landscaping improvements. The recreational and water storage use of the canal will thus be made compatible with its ecological value.
Deliverables (depending upon results of design phase):
500m of canal channel restored to navigable standards
- dredging of in-fill from the historic canal to create a channel of navigable profile (min 1.5m x 10m)
- reinforcement of the banks (using soft bank protection where applicable)
- planting of emergent vegetation to act as a barrier to bank erosion
- rebuilding of embankments/cuttings where necessary
- conservation of stone or brick built operational structures if required
500m of canal towpath restored as a multi-user trail
- Reclamation of the full width of the towpath where this has been lost
- Removal of physical obstacles (e.g. vegetation)
- Landscaping works to create a level surface
- Provision of an appropriate towpath surface (e.g. rolled gravel)
- Provision of access gate/ramp where appropriate
Integrated filtering system
Design and construction of adjacent filtering system (to include one or more of the following: silt traps, emergent vegetation filtering systems, oil interceptors, settling lagoons)
Habitat creation
- Construction of marginal habitat shelves for emergent vegetation and habitats
- Construction of a sloped offside bank to create a habitat that is continuous with the surrounding landscape
- Conservation of existing habitats
The local objectives of the project are:
- Restoration of a short length of abandoned, infilled, contaminated canal
- Design of a filtering system for minor feeders into the canal
- Integration of recreational, environmental and economic activities on the canal
- Improvement of overall water quality and clarity
- Habitat creation & biodiversity enhancement
