Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust announces the reinstatement of flowing river water along a key section of Vicar Water at Clipstone after over 70 years.
In partnership with landowners The Welbeck Estates Company Ltd and contractors Ebsford Environmental Ltd, this ambitious restoration is part of The Three Rivers Restoration Project.
The project is a collaboration between the Trust and Severn Trent, which aims to deliver a programme of essential measures to improve the water environment in three rivers within the Idle Catchment, for which Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is the Catchment Host.
The three rivers covered by the project are Rainworth Water, Vicar Water, and Bevercotes Beck. The Trust is being supported in the delivery of the Three Rivers Project by specialist staff from its subsidiary, EMEC Ecology.
Vicar Water flows through the country park named after the river and then alongside Clipstone Colliery, owned by The Welbeck Estates Company Ltd.
The 600m section undergoing restoration – from the railway bridge to Baulker Lane – was previously heavily modified, with much of it buried in an underground railway culvert. Initial groundworks by Ebsford have now exposed the culvert, which hasn’t seen the light of day in around 70 years.
The planned work includes restoring a more natural river channel through ‘deculverting’ and river regrading, introducing berms, riffles, pools, and meanders to improve water flow and enhance wildlife habitat.
These are in-channel features that diversify the hydro-geomorphology of the river, increasing biodiversity opportunities, improving fish passage, and enhancing water quality. In addition to this, the creation of floodplains increases water storage capacity and can contribute to flood alleviation and wetland habitats.
Additionally, beaver analogue dams – structures that mimic the natural impact of dams created by beavers – will be installed to slow water flow and create pools and wetland habitat during high flows, delivering transformational change to the landscape. For the first time in approximately 70 years, the river will once again flow above ground using a technique called daylighting. It is believed that the river was straightened and culverted during mining construction in the 1950s.
Due to mining fissures in the sandstone bedrock that runs under the colliery, the new and existing river channel is being clay-lined to prevent water loss and enable the river to adapt to low flows.
Emily Farrell, Project Manager at Ebsford, stated, “We’ve brought in heavy machinery, including 20-tonne ADTs, an 18m long-reach excavator, and 24-tonne standard excavators for this exciting project, and we are delighted to be working with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to bring life back into the river and improve water flow. Over 20,000 cubic metres of spoil will be removed during the daylighting. That’s equivalent to a quarter of a million wheelbarrows of earth!”
Emily continued, “The initial fish rescue prior to starting work highlighted a number of healthy species still living in the river, including perch and ruffe.”
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Project Manager, Ian Higginson, stated, “We met a local dog walker at Vicar Water who remembers the river at the top end (Vicar Dale) before mining and recalls trout tickling – rubbing their tummies by hand to make them relax, then scooping them out of the water easily by hand.”
Ian continued, “This is by far the most ambitious element of The Three Rivers Project we’re delivering in partnership with Severn Trent and among the most complex habitat engineering work Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has overseen. Whilst we’re not suggesting that folk should be tickling trout any time soon, we’re hopeful that the species will become a common sight in years to come. We expect the improved habitat will attract birds like kingfishers and little egrets, fish such as eel, bullhead, and stickleback, as well as trout – along with dragonflies, water voles, otters, Daubenton’s bats, and aquatic insects such as mayflies. We are proud to be helping to regenerate a former coal mine by bringing life back to the river for the benefit of the local community. The river will once more become the green heart of Clipstone, transforming the local environment for people to enjoy and value.”
Darren Ridout, Head of Land Regeneration and Planning at The Welbeck Estates Company Ltd, said, “We are proud to be one of the partners in this river improvement project to enhance the natural habitat for the local community.”
Neil Pope from Severn Trent said, “We work hand in hand with nature, and we’re extremely pleased to have been able to fund this work to reinstate the natural flow at a key section of Vicar Water.”
Neil continued, “We’re working hard to improve river health across our region, which will, in turn, better protect the wildlife and habitats that live in and around our rivers. Working with our partners is just one of the ways we’re doing that.”
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been working to promote and protect nature for more than six decades, and this project is a great example of the benefits of collaboration. By working in partnership and sharing expertise, we can deliver real impact for nature and create a wilder Nottinghamshire for all. The Three Rivers Project is one of several ambitious and exciting nature recovery programmes the Trust is delivering in partnership with Severn Trent, covering sites across the county.
