16 Feb 2023
Almost five years since it was first announced, a cross-agency programme to revitalise the River Ver and Verulamium Lake has made some substantial moves forward.
The multi-million pound Revitalising the RiVer project is a partnership between the district and county councils, the Environment Agency (EA) and Affinity Water, focused on returning 2.5km of the River Ver to its natural state.
A consequence of this work will be to help clean out nearby Verulamium Lakes, which are suffering from silt build-up due to a reduced water flow.
The rare chalk stream which makes up the River Ver is fed from groundwater aquifers which should produce crystal clear, meandering, babbling brooks and support an abundance of wildlife.
But over time the river has been moved, widened, and flattened, often leaving it stagnant, dirty and shallow, and largely unrecognisable as a chalk stream.
Many of these historic changes were to facilitate the milling industry, but now much of the gravel bed is blanketed in a thick lining of silt, blocking the aquifers.
As part of the project, trees currently shading the river will be thinned to allow wildlife and foliage to grow, significant enhancements will take place in Verulamium Park to improve the water quality of its artificial lakes.
This will include reducing the small lake in size by 60% and the large lake by 40%, according to the last meeting of SADC’s River Ver working group.
New accessible wetlands providing a habitat for birds, fish and insects as well as plants will also be created.
The main aim of the project is to improve a 2.5km section of the stream flowing through Verulamium Park to Sopwell Mill Farm, including narrowing the Ver to improve the flow, and creating riffles, pools and meanders.
The gravel bed will be naturally cleared of silt and the river’s concrete banks dismantled and replaced by soil, grasses and plants.
The work was originally scheduled to begin in 2019, but has experienced various delays and set-backs over the past few years.
Back in 2020, Cllr Anthony Rowlands welcomed a £300K investment from the Environment Agency to help fund the drawing up of detailed designs by specialists, as well as the business case for proceeding with the initiative.
But he also said: “I can understand that many residents are eager for us to advance the project and want to see some tangible results such as immediate improvements to the lakes. However, I must ask them to be patient as this is a complex project and much other preparatory work needs to be done before the diggers can move in.
“The state of Verulamium Park has been a major concern for many years now and we are determined finally to resolve it.”
An update on the project’s progress has now been provided by Cllr Helen Campbell, chair of SADC’s public realm committee.
Cllr Campbell said: “We are working with the Environment Agency on their project to revitalise the River Ver as it flows through Verulamium Park.
“It is now at the detailed design and investigations phase.
“The Environment Agency has informed us it is close to finishing the detailed designs for Reach Two and Three. That is the area between the causeway footpath, which links Abbey Orchard and King Harry Lane, and the Cottonmill allotments. A number of essential ground investigations have also been carried out.
“It is expected that a planning application for this section of the project will be submitted within the next few months.
“To coincide with the application, the Environment Agency will be holding a number of engagement events to explain the plans to residents and seek their views.
“Work continues by the Environment Agency on drafting the detailed designs for Reach One which includes the park’s two artificial lakes. There also needs to be further ground investigations.
“Revitalising the Ver is an ambitious, complex project involving a number of partners which will restore the rare chalk stream to its more natural state, improve the water quality of the lakes and provide new wetlands for our precious wildlife.
“We remain committed to it despite the challenging financial climate which is putting a strain on the budgets of all the organisations involved.”
The River Ver is one of around only 200 chalk rivers in the entire world.
Their rarity and importance have led them to be described as ‘England’s Rainforest’.
