River Wandle, , Butter Hill

The story so far  Creating riverside wetlands  Installing 3 silt traps and adding 270 Like many urban rivers, the River Wandle at tonnes of gravel Carshalton had been widened and  Thinning trees to increase light straightened with a number of weirs  Planting 3000 plants breaking its natural flow. This limited the ABOVE – Abundant with green, the river Wandle is now a joy to take in ©South East Rivers Trust diversity of habitats and the river suffered How has it helped wildlife? pollution from misconnected home sewage pipes and road run-off.  Fish can move freely for 2.5km  Invertebrates and all life stages of fish This project restored the natural building now have habitat which suits them blocks of the river ecosystem. By opening up  Brown trout are back in the river for fish passage, enhancing river habitat, and the first time in 80 years addressing urban pollution, the Carshalton Arm has achieved ‘Good Ecological Potential’ How has it helped people? under the EU Water Framework Directive –  Local people are connecting to the the first river in to achieve this. In river through contributing 3000 recognition, the project is the proud winner BEFORE – The river was previously wide and volunteer hours straight, limiting habitat diversity ©South East of the Urban Category for the 2016 UK River  Better access and beautiful views for Rivers Trust Prize. local residents

The river was restored by Partnership organisations  Lowering 5 weirs South East Rivers Trust, DEFRA  Installing one fish pass to help (Catchment Restoration Fund), migrating fish Environment Agency, Heritage Lottery  Creating meanders Fund, , Wild Trout Trust, Nearest Station: Carshalton