River Colne Catchment Action Network

Catchment projects

Hover over a numbered spot to see a project summary. Click on a spot to see the full project details. Alternatively view the project list.

The Pinn flows for 12 miles from north east of Harrow Weald Common to join the Frays River at Cowley. The Ash leaves the Colne at Staines and flows east for 6 miles to the Thames. The Duke of Northumberland and the Longford Rivers flow from the Colne near Heathrow to the Crane.

The Colne Valley Park covers 43 square miles of countryside on the edge of London, Herts, Bucks, Berks and Surrey. The Park includes over 70 lakes, 13 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 5 country parks and hundreds of other green spaces.

7. 11 month contract Frays and Pinn coordinator

Aims: Control invasive non-native species; Involve people with their local waterbodies; Work together

Establish and maintain contacts with key volunteer groups
Consult with local support groups and users groups to improve access and local participation in river activities.
Plan, organise and deliver volunteering and engagements activities and events with community groups and residents
Maintain and manage events equipment
Carry out risk assessments on project sites as required and introduce any corrective actions resulting from these.
Act as responsible Health and Safety Officer at events.
Coordinate and direct volunteers working on projects
Manage volunteer delivery staff to increase event capacity

20. European Eel monitoring

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Elver monitoring on the Ash as part of a wider monitoring programme through the Thames catchment.

15. Habitat, tree works and access improvements at Thorney Park Golf Course

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Local habitat enhancement and tree-work in partnership with Thorney Park Golf Club enhancement of the permissive paths to improve access and protect against misuse.

11. Enhance the Kingfisher Gardens install baffles to enable fish passage

Aims: Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve wildlife corridors

Enhance Kingfisher Gardens through partnering South Bucks DC, ColneCAN and Richings Park Resident Association

21. Butts Pond, Staines Moor: habitat improvement

Aims: Improve wildlife corridors; Work together

The pools at Butts Pond are on the Staines Moor SSSI and close to the Colne, the Wraysbury River and the Yeoveney Ditch. As out-of-channel pools they are particularly valuable as breeding sites for amphibia and insects. Volunteers regularly remove vegetation such as bulrush (Typha latifolia) from the pools to allow in light and maintain open water.

14. Lower Mill Farm weir

Aim: Manage flow

The weir structure at Lower Mill farm was the first impassable barrier to many fish entering the Colne system from the Thames.

13. West Drayton Mill

Aims: Improve wildlife corridors; Manage flow

Lower impoundment and create bypass channel and in-channel enhancements.

12. Harmondsworth Moor boardwalk

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

New boardwalk to provide alternative route for the Colne Valley Trail across Harmondsworth Moor Country Park

10. Colne Valley Trail - section 3

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

Create section 3 of the Colne Valley Trail from West Drayton to Staines.

9. Arthur Jacob Nature Reserve

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Improve the habitats and accessability of the Arthur Jacob Nature Reserve beside the Colne Brook.

8. Trout Lane

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

Improve the appearance, accessability and landscape of Trout lane as a gateway to the Colne Valley Park from West Drayton.

7. River Signage

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

Improve signage of rivers to raise awareness of local rivers and how they relate to the landscape.

6. Mouth of the Colne

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

Create a sense of place through reducing signage clutter, installing interpretative/artwork and landscaping. Develop as distinctive destination in the Colne Valley Park.

5. Habitat enhancement in the Lower Colne

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Implement the 2009 Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust report on habitat enhancements for mammals in the Lower Colne.

4. Rivers around runways

Aim: Involve people with their local waterbodies

River enhancements including tree walks to the River Colne near Longford immediately to the west of Heathrow Airport

3. Crown Meadow

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Tree works to enhance habitat as part of a wider series of improvements to Crown Meadow

2. Wraysbury mud wharves

Aims: Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve wildlife corridors

Improvements to a stretch of historical river bank and footpath to improve access, biodiversity and raise awareness of the areas heritage as an area where parishioners have the right to cut reed and throw mud!

1. Harmondsworth Moor river enhancements

Aim: Improve wildlife corridors

Tree management along the riverbanks to create areas of light and shade, protected areas for fish fry and install natural flow deflectors to improve biodiversity in and along the river bank .