Project

River Bollin Project at Quarry Bank

View of the River Bollin surrounded by trees in the southern woods at Quarry Bank — The River Bollin flowing through the Southern Woods at Quarry Bank | © National Trust Images / Derek Hatton

As part of a national programme to improve the health of rivers across England and Wales, we've launched the River Bollin Riverlands Project. The project will include Quarry Bank, Dunham Massey, Lyme, Alderley Edge and Hare Hill.

The River Bollin meanders through Cheshire and the southern fringes of Manchester, flowing by many places along the way, including Quarry Bank, Lyme, Dunham Massey, Alderley Edge and Hare Hill. The largely rural and agricultural nature of the catchment gives way to the Greater Manchester conurbation to the north.

The River Bollin is part of the national Riverlands Programme which has the following three key aims;

Rivers and catchments that are healthy, clean and rich in wildlife.
Rivers and catchments that are easily accessed, valued and loved for their heritage and beauty.
Sustainable long-term care for rivers and catchments.

We’ll also be working with local communities to help them rediscover and reconnect with their rivers – as spaces for leisure and activity, to socialise, or simply take a walk beside the water and clear their minds.

On this timeline, we'll be posting regular updates of the work we're doing on the project, so keep checking back in to stay up to date.

Latest updates

31 August 2023

The need for pondscape recovery

We’re continuing our work to identify and locate ponds that have been lost over the last 100+ years.

These ponds sometimes show up on historic maps, although many do not. We’ve been working with The Environmental Partnership to map current and historic ponds. They’re putting together a dataset showing where ponds are currently present in the landscape, what their current condition is, and how they can be improved.

Where the conditions are right, we want to restore these ‘ghost’ ponds and put them back into our landscape. To do this, we’ll need to dig down to the original pond bed and watch as it springs back into life. Where this has happened before it has allowed for plants that have not been seen for hundreds of years to come back to life.

We’re close to completing our mapping, and you can find out more about our work with The Environmental Partnership here.

Environmental Agency is a public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, working to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development.

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