River Avon flowing through Salisbury Central Car Park again
It's been blocked off since Summer 2023, for the River Park project
The River Avon is now flowing through the Central Car Park area in Salisbury once again, more than a year after the channel was closed off.
It's being described as a 'major milestone' for the River Park project, but there's still lots of work to go.
The £35 million scheme aims to reduce the flood risk for 350 city centre homes and business, while improving our 'access' to the waterway, through walking and cycling routes, better amenities and boosting biodiversity.
What's been done so far?
The river channel has been closed since summer 2022, and has now been widened to increase capacity.
A new control weir has replaced the sluice gate between Millstream and the main River Avon.
A series of rock weirs have been added to allow the drop in water level whilst still allowing upstream and downstream fish passage, as the previous gate acted as a barrier to fish migrating upstream.
Water is being released back into the channel in controlled amounts to enable staff on-site to monitor its impact.
Around 1,000 fish were safely moved to other watercourses before the work began, with on-site ecologists surveying and monitoring the area for all animals to minimise risks to habitats.
Each stage of works has been timed to minimise impact to ecology, with the reopening of the channel due to be completed before the fish migration season starts in November.
The Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council and Salisbury City Council, have been working in collaboration on the scheme.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:
“It is a key priority for us to protect Wiltshire's natural beauty, and that its unique habitats and wildlife are nurtured. Salisbury is widely recognised as one of England’s best places to live and acts as a base to discover it’s surrounding countryside and heritage.
“It is great that we have got to the stage where the River Avon channel is being reopened and we can’t wait to once again see fish and other wildlife back in this section of the river.
We hope that once complete, the Salisbury River Park project will not only provide great environmental and biodiversity improvements, but also encourage more people to visit and spend time in the city centre.”
Project Lead for the Environment Agency, Andy Wallis, said:
“Allowing flow back into the River Avon channel is an important milestone for the Salisbury River Park project. This part of the scheme will be essential in achieving our aims to remove barriers to fish movement throughout this area. We look forward to seeing how the channel establishes.”
Mayor of Salisbury, Cllr Atiqul Hoque, said:
“This is a great step forward in the River Park Project, very excited can't wait to see the end result. Salisbury is lucky to be home to a range of wildlife and habitats and it is important that we can protect and nurture them. I look forward to seeing fish back in this area of the river and just in time for the migration season.”
The next stage of the works will see the start of landscaping and planting alongside the Avon through Central Car Park, and a new Summerlock stream channel being connected to the main waterway at the Ashley Road open space.