Plans are underway to improve the ecological health of the River Bollin by removing or bypassing two obsolete weirs at Wilmslow Park. This initiative, in partnership with the Environment Agency and Cheshire East Council, and funded by the Open Rivers Programme, marks a significant step forward in reviving historical fish corridors and restoring natural river processes.
Flowing for 49 kilometres through Cheshire and Greater Manchester, the River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey and stands out as one of the most actively meandering rivers in England. It features a highly dynamic gravel bed known for rapid channel shifts, natural bank erosion, and the formation of oxbow lakes.
The project site sits within a designated Local Wildlife Site, with grasslands, active river channels, and delicate wetland habitats. Where the river is able to flow freely without human engineering, it naturally creates a diverse environment of gravel bars, river cliffs, pools, and riffles. This structural variety provides the exact conditions needed for migratory salmonids (salmon and sea trout) and other migratory species such as eels and lampreys (sea, river and brook) – all of which would have been present pre-industrialisation but have been in steady decline.
As part of the 2004 Bollin Salmon Strategy, fish passes were successfully installed on five major weirs downstream of Wilmslow Park, opening up 31 kilometres of the lower river. Modifying the final two remaining barriers at Wilmslow Park is the next step to allow fish to safely migrate further upstream.
Thanks to funding and support from the Open Rivers programme, the project is now in a pre-demolition phase. This means we are ready to complete all technical assessments and administrative requirements to make the scheme ready to progress.
Once the scheme is prepared and funding is secured to progress to demolition, this project will unlock an additional 22.9 kilometres of upstream river channel, reconnecting the fragmented waterway and restoring natural geomorphic processes.
We will share more details on our projects page as this initiative progresses. You can read more about the Open Rivers Programme here.
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