Watford Borough Council's Cabinet has given the go-ahead for a 10-year programme to restore the Watford section of the River Colne.

The Rediscovering the River Colne project, which has been jointly developed between Watford Borough Council and environmental organisation Groundwork, will now move into its first phase of delivery between 2021 and 2024, after a Cabinet meeting approved the plans on 4 October. This will include the delivery of:

• Landscape and access improvements

• Improvements to the river and its adjoining habitats

• A range of engagement and monitoring activities

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The River Colne, which is a tributary of the Thames, will undergo an extensive range of improvements and enhanced management. The key goal is to attract back the original biodiversity of the river and its habitats, including plants, fish, birds, insects and other vital species. A large aspect of helping to restore the river will be a focus on ‘citizen science’ – volunteers who can carry out a range of support activities, including water monitoring, population counts and more.

The reinvigoration of the area will also mean residents can access the river and its riverbanks, where they will be able to enjoy a range of water-based activities, pastimes and educational programmes – including outdoor wild-play sessions, riverfly monitoring, and wellbeing sessions.

Environmental charity Groundwork has been appointed by the council to lead on the first phase of the project.

The detailed designs and permitting has begun for the first four sites – Knutsford Playing Fields, Timberlake Allotments, Radlett Road Playing Fields and Waterfield Recreation Ground.