Fender River Restoration

Along the edge of Bidston golf course on the Wirral, the river Fender has been flowing in a straight, featureless channel for many years. In 2018 the Mersey Rivers Trust, in partnership with the Environment Agency, set about improving this stretch of the River Fender in a river re-naturalisation project.

During the summer months, the Environment Agency brought equipment to map the terrain to enable the Mersey Rivers Trust to decide how to shape river and where to create new habitat for the local wildlife.

In January 2019, the digger arrived and started work, moving the earth to create meanders in the straight, deep cut of the river. There was a lot of earth to displace, and where should it go? The plan was to put it on the top of one of the banks, but when the time came to do it, that was not going to work for everyone, and so work stopped.

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After a spell of bad weather, the decision was made to bring in a special long-arm digger to lift the soil up and across to the opposite bank. This meant that the work could continue with the whole stretch being re-shaped. The Mersey Rivers Trust fortified the banks with coir rolls, fitted flow deflectors and began lots of reed planting to form the new habitat. There are plans to enhance the habitat further with tree planting.

 

The re-naturalised River Fender now has a shapelier course to run, which helps to slow the flow as well as providing a healthier habitat for people and wildlife to enjoy.

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Mersey Basin Campaign | Resources

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