Background Information
The purpose of the scheme was to enhance a 200m stretch of the R. Misbourne running through a golf course in Buckinghamshire. The river had been previously heavily modified in this location, causing it to be straight, over-wide, impounded and generally lacking in any typical chalk stream characteristics.
Scope of the Project
The objectives of this project were to enhance flow characteristics by removing the concrete lining of the channel and re-grading the riverbed, reinstating characteristic chalk stream features through channel narrowing and increasing sinuosity. In addition, an old bridge and its footings were to be removed to make way for the golf club to install a new one.
Our Solution
The concrete channel and bridge were firstly removed using an excavator mounted breaker. Marginal wetland berms were constructed to narrow the river channel, creating a sinuous, varied flow and improved habitat that mimicked natural chalk stream characteristics.
The berms consisted of Hazel faggot lined toe edges, site won large wooded debris, graded bank material, sediment, and coir geotextile. This was all dressed with imported 40-60mm gravels to add a gradient to the riverbed and provide a more natural substrate for fish, invertebrates and other wildlife.
During the entire works, disturbances to the golf club and grounds were minimised by the use of ground protection mats, clearly signed pathways, fenced off working sites and reduced plant movements.
