Sinderland Brook

Stamford Brook Wins Prestigious 2008 Waterways Renaissance Award

The increase in flooding over the years and resultant economic losses has raised a high public interest in flood management in the UK with particular attention given to the risks associated with the development of floodplains. In a groundbreaking project at Sinderland Brook, Haycock Associates have demonstrated that through river restoration and the enhancement of natural floodplains; it is possible to make room for water whilst allowing sensitive development to go ahead. This hails an exciting new era for floodplain development that will have significant repercussions across the UK in the years ahead.

To see the project’s development, we have created a time-lapse animation of the changes to the site (Phase 1). CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

Stamford Brook, the sustainable housing development on the edge of the National Trust's Dunham Massey estate in Altrincham, has won the “Natural Environment” category in the prestigious 2008 Waterways Renaissance Award scheme run by The Waterways Trust and BURA (British Urban Regeneration Association). The award winners were announced on 12 March 2008 at a ceremony at Manchester's Imperial War Museum. The project was achieved through a partnership between the National Trust, developers Redrow (North West) and Taylor Wimpey, Environment Agency and consultants Haycock Associates Limited. The scheme was already recognised with an RHS Biodiversity Award, when it formed part of Trafford’s entry in the NW in Bloom Awards 2006.

Haycock Associates are proud to have been involved from the outset of this project: supporting the National Trust in developing the vision for the restoration of Sinderland Brook, the river that runs through the development, and for ensuring that throughout the work of the last 8 years, the development stayed true to this vision.

"Reaching the final of this prestigious national ceremony is reward for all the hard work each partner has put into this fantastic scheme. The restoration of Sinderland Brook has provided significant ecological, flood risk and recreational benefits" Duncan Revell, Environment Agency, Fisheries, Recreation & Biodiversity Team.

Catherine Prasad, spokesperson for the Stamford Brook Partnership says:

"The restoration of the Sinderland Brook - the largest of its kind in the England- was a key part of the development contract. The brook was to be returned to a natural watercourse following its canalisation by the local authority in the 1970s. Benefits were threefold: to significantly increase flood defenses for the surrounding area and the new houses; to provide new and diverse habitats for wildlife which had not existed in the canalised watercourse and finally to establish a recreational environment which could be enjoyed by both residents of Stamford Brook and the local community."

During 2004, work began by The National Trust to transform a 1.3km stretch of the old canalised watercourse and its limited floodplain, into a diverse meandering river. The channel design was based on its historic geomorphological character in the 1880’s and with reference to downstream reaches. The river can now freely adjust its level across a new and wider floodplain (35 - 60 metres) which gives it increased sustainability.

The upstream drainage area of approximately 3km2 is largely formed by runoff from the urban area of Altrincham, causing a rapid response to any rainfall event. The new river is narrower than the old brook, and interacts more frequently with the floodplain, reducing the rate of any floodwater flowing through the river channel and providing a floodplain 'storage' area for any overflow. Regular inundation and natural sediment dynamic encourages silt to deposit on the floodplain (i.e. away from the channel) during high flow events.

Additional funding of £80,000 from the Environment Agency in 2007 enabled a further 500 metres of Sinderland Brook to be restored and work on the final phase of restoration was completed last year.

The new river corridor has already had a positive benefit for wildlife such as fish, invertebrates, mammals and birds, providing them with new enhanced habitats - and a longer stretch of river for the nesting kingfishers. The opening up of such a large area of land has also provided aesthetic and recreational benefits for local people and residents, which will be further enhanced by the future creation of a community woodland at the western end of the river corridor.

A further part of water management at Stamford Brook was the inclusion of a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) Surface water run off from roofs, parking courts and driveways is piped into a series of temporary ponds (swales) that run through the development through wildlife corridors. The water can be stored safely in the ponds, and allows the water to either percolate back into the ground or discharged into the restored Sinderland Brook river corridor. The swales have been designed to maximise opportunities for habitat creation including the planting of native wetland species and the inclusion of wildlife refuges. The SUDS system has been designed to store a 1:100 year flood event.

With the final stage of the Sinderland Brook river and floodplain restoration scheme complete, we will be updating our web site to include a range of information on this project and keeping our fingers crossed for the awards!

To see the restoration works captured in the build phase, visit Google MAPS, which has an image of the site taken in July 2005.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=53.408573,-2.361669&spn=0.002529,0.005783&t=k&z=18&om=1