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To make a meaningful impact upon the restoration of the River Sherbourne, our project has to take an area based approach. This means that we have several key sites that we interact with more regularly. These sites allow us to focus on restoration and engagement projects and see real change for both nature and the people of Coventry.
Coundon wedge is a Local Wildlife Site (LWS) that extends in a wedge shape into the suburban neighbourhoods of Allesley and Coundon. The site is highly valued as a greenspace by the residents of Coventry and boasts a good range of wildlife within a suburban setting. Including high value veteran oak trees, a good range of grassland plant species and fruit trees. The site is supported by an active local group that regularly support our work. The Allesley and Coundon Wedge Conservation Society (ACWCS) campaign for the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat in the area and have successfully created an area of mixed woodland on the site (‘wedge wood’) through tree planting projects. In 2023, we had a large scale project at Coundon Wedge to redirect the North Brook into it’s historical floodplain, you can read more about this here.
Lake View Park is a large and well-maintained greenspace and Local Wildlife Site in the north west of Coventry. It is surrounded by suburban, mainly terraced housing. The park is a well-used and highly valued greenspace boasting a wide range of common urban species. The site is commonly wet and is known as a local floodplain. Prior to the beginning of the project, the park had already been subject to a successful small wetland creation project and another river bank re-profiling project. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust had also created two areas of wildflower meadow on the site.
The River Sherbourne through Lake View Park has been historically over straightened and over deepened – our project is taking steps to re-naturalise the river. In doing this we will improve wildlife habitat throughout the site and improve the river health.
A large and often unnoticed part of Lake View Park is Grayswood. Historically it is an unmanaged area of woodland and disused allotments, in which Guphill Brook runs through before it meets with the Sherbourne in the park. We have a long standing project with volunteers to improve Grayswood, focusing on accessibility and habitat creation. We focus on light thinning and removal of invasive species whilst creating accessible pathways. This ultimately helps to create diversity in structure and allow more light to reach the woodland floor. In 2023, we helped to mitigate a weir to allow fish migration and improve the flow energy of the river, you can read more about it here.
To find out more information about Lake View Park, visit the Coventry City Council page.
Charterhouse Heritage Park is a well-used urban greenspace within the inner suburbs of southern Coventry. The area is being developed by Historic Coventry Trust as a heritage site for visitors. The northern end of the site features a 14th century building which began life as a Carthusian monastery, in addition to other archaeological remains.
The area is a well-used and highly valued local recreation ground. The river has been historically modified resulting in a heavily straightened and over deepened course as it runs through the park. Given the location of the site as the first area of open green space following the river’s exit from the culvert, the heritage park represents a vital part of the Sherbourne both ecologically and with regards to the approach to flood water management.
We are working closely with Historic Coventry Trust and many of their volunteers to improve the River Sherbourne in the area. We are currently looking at a potential area for wetland creation, and regularly monitor the morphology and water quality of the river here.
