Delivering Results for your Environment
Pool Meadow Wetland Restoration
The Pool Meadow project is an exciting opportunity to restore a large wetland area and improve public access to a much-loved part of Chipping Norton.
Working on behalf of Chipping Norton Town Council, Beaumont Rivers have been investigating the feasibility of reconnecting Pool Meadow to the watercourse to form an on-line (connected to the river, not the internet!) ponded wetland area with a shallow gradient, producing a large area of valuable biodiverse marginal habitat (not too wet, not too dry).
The water will be relatively shallow (maximum 1m) and will not use the embankment that the footpath is on to hold back water – that would be way too deep for the ecology we want and put too much stress on an old structure. Having established that the project is eminently feasible, we are now in the process of gathering all of the permissions and permits we require to carry out the works.
We are also restoring the public footpath around the site to improve access to walkers and make it possible for everyone to enjoy, including people who use wheelchairs, pushchairs, and so on. There will also be two new information boards on site to tell people about the fascinating history and ecology of the site.
In medieval times, the area was the location of one or more fish ponds that supplied Chipping Norton castle with food.
The pool was then enlarged with the addition of a bund by the Victorians as part of mill operations and then kept as an amenity for swimming and ice skating until the late 1940’s - The photograph on the left shows local residents Wally, Brenda and Brenda's father, ice skating on the lake in 1949.
At some point in history it was drained and became the site we know today. The site is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument so we are working with GW Heritage to carry out an archaeological assessment that we will take to Historic England when we apply for consent. As part of the scheme, we will be maintaining and safeguarding the site for future generations.
The site has been colonized by Giant Horsetail, which has produced a monoculture with relatively poor biodiversity.
This species is very tenacious and difficult to control (though not as challenging as its cousin, Field Horsetail), and we will never get rid of it all (and we wouldn’t want to either!).
We plan to reduce its dominance and introduce new wildflower and riparian species to the remaining areas of dry land. This will provide new opportunities for a multitude of species to thrive and make the area their homes.
We will not introduce any species into the underwater areas as these will be introduced naturally by the river and the historic seed bank to form the right ecology for the site.
As the area has not been inundated for decades, it will be fascinating to study which species emerge from the seed bank – perhaps we will find some species that were once abundant and are now rare!
Pool Meadow from the Air
Play the videos below to explore our site from above
Pool Meadow Drone Footage 2
Pool Meadow Drone Footage 1
Project
Benefits
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Catchment-wide improved water quality
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Huge biodiversity improvements that will support local and downstream populations
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The opportunity to revitalise a historic seed bank that could benefit endangered populations
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New wetland habitat for endangered species, including water voles and great crested newts
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Improved floodplain storage, with improved flooding lag time and reduced impacts for downstream communities
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A new, safe amenity for the community to enjoy
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Improved access to the outdoors, including disabled people and pushchair users
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Improved care and maintenance for a nationally significant archaeological site
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Improved connection between a growing town and its history, with the opportunity for people to learn from on-site information boards
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Local community involvement and prosperity, with local suppliers being used for every step of the way
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The opportunity for local schools and clubs to have field trips to learn about nature, environmental restoration and history, where they can be inspired to study and act upon wider environmental issues
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Providing university students the opportunity to develop professional skills and experience by helping with LiDAR and mapping requirements
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Providing students with the opportunity to study the environmental impacts of the restoration
Our Project Partners
This work has been made possible so far by support from a huge number of individuals and organisations, including the Chipping Norton Green Gym, GW Heritage, BSG Ecology, Thames Water, West Oxfordshire District Council, the Environment Agency, Natural England and Historic England.
Funding has been kindly provided by Chipping Norton Town Council, the Evenlode Catchment Partnership and administered by the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment. We owe everyone involved a great deal of thanks and look forward to delivering the project together.