The 117m long culvert is covering the river at Shorey Bank, Darwen, near Blackburn, Lancs and is preventing fish and other wildlife from flourishing. As part of the improvement works, which will also help to prevent flooding in the area, the Environment Agency will remove the roof and uncover the river, before shaping the sides and bottom of the river to create habitat for wildlife and improve access to the river for maintenance and recreation.
Tony Callaghan, Environment Agency Project Manager, said:
“Removing this culvert is one small step in our plans to transform more than 9,500 miles of rivers in England and Wales by 2015 – the equivalent of the distance between the UK and Australia.
Our rivers are the healthiest for 20 years, but we are doing even more to further improve water quality and biodiversity. This area of Darwen is home to a very rare plant called Narrow Small Reed which is only found at four sites in England. By removing the culvert it will give more space and light for this plant to flourish and will also allow brown trout to travel further up and down the river.”
