20 Nov 2024
Plans to restore the River Ver to its natural course have been rejected by councillors as too expensive.
The proposals, part of the Revitalise the Ver project, would have cost between £4-6m, far in excess of the budget put aside for the scheme by SADC.
The project is a partnership between council, the Environment Agency (EA) and Affinity Water, and will involve enhancing 2.5km stretch of the Ver – one of the UK’s rare chalk streams – and its surrounding environment.
Work will soon get underway to create a new wetlands adjacent to Abbey View Athletics Track, by restoring a meadow to its original state, and to open up the heavily-shaded river to more essential sunlight.
In addition, there will be tree work on both riverbanks, stretching from the St Michael’s Street entrance to the park to Cottonmill allotments.
This work will reduce shading which is currently preventing much natural light reaching the river to the detriment of the general environment.
The tree and wetlands work is being funded by £175,000 the council has obtained from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), £300,000 from the EA and £250,000 from Affinity Water.
The council has allocated a further £180,000 from UKSPF to replace a footbridge and improve a footpath from Holywell Hill to Cottonmill Lane. All of these works should be completed by next spring.
Cllr Helen Campbell, the public realm committee’s chair and lead for parks, said: “Residents will be pleased to know that work will soon be underway on this project which has been years in the making.
“The Environment Agency has a long-term commitment to restore rare chalk streams, such as the Ver, and improve their ecosystems.
“We are right behind this endeavour as these streams are sometimes referred to as England’s rain forests or Great Barrier Reef. They are national treasures.”
Although the river cannot be returned to its natural course, two alternative options are now being proposed and will be examined by the project’s working group.
Both options would largely maintain the river in its current channel, but still make alterations to the lake area, including the reuse of silt to naturalise the edges for habitat enhancement.
One of the council’s aims is to improve the appearance and habitat of Verulamium Park’s heavily-silted artificial lakes.
Cllr Campbell added: “The Ver project allows us the opportunity to tackle the decades-long issues with the artificial lakes which were built almost a century ago to a design that would not be considered today.
“I know that the state of the lakes is one of our residents’ major concerns and we are determined that we will seize this chance to provide a long-term solution.
“It’s clear that the initial plans for this part of the project would cost way beyond what we can afford, but there are other options which we are excited about and we will now look at in detail.
“With tree, wetlands and planting work taking place this winter, the Revitalising the Ver project is now beginning to take shape and we will decide early next year on the best option for the lake area.”
