A plan to prevent future flooding from the River Chess between Rickmansworth and Croxley Green has been backed by Three Rivers District Council (TRDC).
Hertfordshire County Council and the Environment Agency want to create a second channel near Scotsbridge to reduce pressure on the river, which has flooded several times in the last decade.
One flood, in 2014, caused damage to properties and the closure of the A412.
The plan requires support from TRDC because it is one of the landowners and has been asked to acquire further land in the area from the Royal Masonic Trust (RMT).
Councillors on the policy and resources committee unanimously agreed yesterday (September 9) to support the plan in principle, though details still need to be ironed out.
Cllr Andrew Scarth (LD, Oxhey Hall and Hayling) said “nature will win” as a result of the plan, while Cllr Jon Tankard (LD, Leavesden) added: “This is exciting, this is great, this is what we are here to do – we are here to protect the environment for future generations, and this is one way we can potentially do it.”
Decades ago, the river channel at Scotsbridge was realigned to power a water mill – now a Mitchells and Butlers steakhouse.
But the alignment means the river is at a higher level than the surrounding floodplain – leading to flooding, bank erosion, silt accumulation, and fish being unable to pass down the river.
Hertfordshire County Council commissioned a feasibility study in 2017 to consider options and found creating a bypass channel would “greatly reduce” the risk of flooding, without increasing the risk of flooding downstream from the current problem area.
Now it wants to put the plan into action.
It means working with a number of landowners, including TRDC, Mitchells and Butlers, a private landowner and the RMT, which runs the nearby Royal Masonic School for Girls.
The plan cannot go ahead unless TRDC acquires land from the RMT to allow the new channel to be created.
Taking ownership of the land would mean taking responsibility for its maintenance, but the council has requested a commuted sum to cover the first 10 years of management.
Funding to prepare detailed designs for the work has been secured by Hertfordshire County Council and the Environment Agency.
The new channel would be to the west of the existing river, meaning the route of the current public footpath would have to be moved slightly to the west.
Paul Jennings, Chair of the River Chess Association, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he supports the idea of creating a bypass channel, but added the area had “huge potential” for further improvements.
He said: “If Three Rivers, the Royal Masonic Trust and other landowners have the ambition, I think you can create a fantastic wetland, river and chalk stream habitat, with good public access.”
Mr Jennings suggested “a network of paths could be created” to help relieve the “huge amount of pressure” on the existing footpath to the west of the river.
“You could create something really very special – something for anybody connected with the River Chess and Rickmansworth to be really proud of,” he said.
There are 240 chalk streams across the world – with ten per cent of them being found in Hertfordshire. The Chess, which rises in Buckinghamshire and meets the River Colne in Rickmansworth, is one of them.
Council officers said the Scotsbridge project is currently at a “very early scoping stage”, with “numerous” opportunities for councillors to review it later.
They added there is “little to no risk” in providing support in principle, with the council able to withdraw support “right up until spades go in the ground and a formal agreement is made”.
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