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 | Yorkshire Times A Voice of the Free Press |
12:00 AM 12th October 2024
nature
Tawd Valley Wetlands Celebrate A Summer Of Success
New urban wetland brings biodiversity boost to the heart of Skelmersdale
A broad bodied chaser (dragonfly) at the Tawd wetlands. Photo : Mike Flaherty, Ribble Rivers Trust
Located in the heart of Tawd Valley Park in Skelmersdale, this wetland has flourished over the past year, becoming a vital resource for both nature and the local community.
The 200,000-litre wetland, which was completed in April 2024, has already delivered a multitude of environmental benefits. Newly established vegetation has taken root, creating rich habitats that have attracted a variety of bird species, invertebrates, and mammals. Visitors to Tawd Valley Park have also increased, as people come to enjoy the park’s revitalized landscape to observe the flourishing wildlife.
Combining expertise from a range of partner organisations, including the Environment Agency, West Lancashire Ranger Service, and Ribble Rivers Trust, the new wetland has been carefully designed and engineered to improve water quality, mitigate flooding risks for local residents, and provide essential green spaces for wildlife.
Whilst the wetland will provide multiple environmental benefits, the primary goal of the work was to enhance water quality. By diverting rainwater into a storage wetland instead of directly into the River Tawd, sediment and pollutants, such as heavy metals from road runoff and microplastics from tyres, are captured before entering the river.
Wetlands numbers are in decline, and have become a nationally rare habitat, so this space for nature will prove a welcome refuge for wildlife.
Additionally, this wetland forms a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS). SUDs systems are a more natural approach to managing rainwater, run off, and drainage systems. Their designs enable them to temporarily store water during storm events, reduce peak flows and reduce surface water runoff.
Although this may seem straightforward, this scheme required significant planning and preparation, not least due to the fact that the wetland links to two major surface water sewers.
The new wetland at Tawd Valley Park is a much welcome addition to the River Douglas sub-catchment. As well as reducing urban river pollution, this wetland also provides Natural Flood Management (NFM) benefits, by slowing the flow of rainwater and reducing the volume of water entering rivers, therefore reducing pressure on river systems.
We’ve already seen impressive habitat regeneration and a noticeable rise in wildlife diversity, including insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals. It’s rewarding to see how this space not only improves water quality and reduces flood risk but also creates much-needed homes for wildlife in an urban setting.
The River Tawd is one of our priority areas in Lancashire, not least because is flows through the beautiful Tawd Valley Park– a valuable amenity for the local community.
Wetlands like this one can really help to reduce the impact of pollution, so we are proud to have worked alongside West Lancashire Borough Council and Ribble Rivers Trust to create it. We are also committed to working with the Tawd Valley Park Steering Group to continue to improve the river in the future.
This transformative undertaking is part of a broader initiative to rejuvenate Tawd Valley Park and enhance the River Douglas sub-catchment and the wider Ribble catchment. Led by West Lancashire Borough Council, planned work ranges from new cycle paths to upgraded fishing lakes, and the redevelopment aims to enrich both the environmental landscape and recreational opportunities within the region.
Tawd Valley Wetlands has received £50,000 from the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with an additional £25,000 having been received from the Whitemoss Community Fund and further funding from the Environment Agency. Commencing in early 2024, the wetland project, which was created in collaboration with Wade Group, reached completion in April 2024.