At 9am on Monday 18 July the peace of Carshalton was shattered by the sounds of disc cutters, pneumatic drills and sledgehammers as a section of the weir on Mill Lane, just downstream of Butter Hill, was removed.

This is the first phase in a series of works taking place over the next few months to improve fish passage and river habitat on this reach of river.

The concrete was very hard and reinforced with steel so a lot of patience and muscle was needed by our experienced river contractors Karl and Tim!

As the section was removed the impounded water was released creating a faster flowing, narrower river that is now passable to fish.

Lots of silt and sand that previously smothered the bed was revealed.  This will be secured to form a new bank edge and planted with aquatic plants by volunteers over the next 2 weekends.

Watch this space for more updates!

This work is supported by the WATER project selected within the scope of the INTERREG IVA France (Channel) – England cross-border European cooperation programme, co-financed by the ERDF.