River Char Community Project

Next River Char Community Project Event:
15th June (early evening) 
​​​Guided river walk/talk with Nick Gray of Dorset Wildlife Trust 

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River Char Community Project
Clean, Revive, Restore
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Project Background

​For most of their journey to the sea, the River Char and its tributaries flow through the parishes of Wootton and Whitchurch.

So Char Valley Parish Council (which includes these parishes) commissioned Dorset AONB and Dorset Wildlife Trust teams (using grants + Parish Council resources) to do a snapshot study of the River Char. This report is now published (Dec. 2021). It gives us a picture of the health of the river, identifies problems and points the way to a comprehensive river improvement plan.

In Phase 2 of the River Char Community Project, we are working with Dorset AONB to put their improvement plan into action. 

The 7 main strands of this work are:

• Monitoring
• Habitat improvement & restoration
• Invasive species control
• Research & survey
• Community engagement
• Agricultural land management change
• Natural Flood Management

See more details of each of these topics here.

2021/2022 River Char Project: Action Plan

We launched the River Char Community Project on 11th Dec. 2021 at Becklands Organic Farm

• On 17th January 2022 we held an evening’s ‘Char Conversation’ led by Ian Rees and Nick Gray. This was attended by 37 people. See the Questions and Answers summarised here.

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• On Saturday 12th February, we held a first ‘daylighting’ working party (to clear a section of the river and its banks).

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• On Saturday 12th March, we held a second river restoration and bat-box making session with Dorset AONB and Dorset Wildlife Trust at Befferlands Farm. We had a great turn-out and got some good clearance work done along a stretch of the river.

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• Friday 29th April, we held a Riverfly training day for ten residents with Angus Menzies of ​Dorset Wildlife Trust in Wootton Fitzpaine.

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Next Events:
​You can check back here for updates and more details. Or we can send you occasional news and updates about the project. (Email our clerk, Tamsin, and ask to be added to the River Char email list.)
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• ​​​The next guided river walk/talk will be on 15th June (early evening)..  

 

• The next public meeting, entitled 'Foam, fleas and faeces' will look in more detail at domestic pollution problems faced by the river.

 

• Work on invasive species will start with a working party to root out Himalayan Balsam on 21st July (early evening)

  

• On Agricultural Land Management there is funding for an initial four advisory visits to local farms looking at farm economics and suggesting how to make them more sustainable environmentally & economically.

 

• We have prepared a leaflet to help residents to look after their septic tanks better. See it here.

 

• From April 2022, Dorset AONB will look for additional funding to allow the project to be widened to include the entire catchment. 

Technical documents

• Foam in rivers and still waters
• Evidence of Pollution
• Problem Plants
• Sewage fungus - a field and microscopic guide​
• ​Nurdles and biobeads - everything you need to know

Background documents

• Environment Agency 2019 report
• ​John Blanchard's GIS mapping.
• Environment Agency report - River Char: Part 1 --- Part 2
• Env. Agency report - Wootton Fitzpaine Catchment
• River Char: Environment Agency Cycle 2 Classifications
• ​W Dorset Rivers & Coastal Streams: issues 22/06/15
• BBC Report May 2022: Wessex Water's major storm water scheme

For comparison:

• River Asker project  --  full report --  summary report
• River Axe Regulatory Report
• Friends of the Upper Wye

​River Char Community Project documents

• CVPC Working Group Meeting Notes 30/10/2019
• CVPC Working Group Meeting Notes 29/01/2020​​​
• River Char Snapshot Study Terms of Reference
• Grant Application​
• ​AONB/SDF Grant Offer Letter
• ​Char Chat article Jan 2021

2022 River Sightings:
​Kingfisher at Berne Manor Farm - 22nd Jan 2022
Mink at Dolphins, Berne Lane - 6th March 2022

Read the full River Char Report commissioned by your Parish Council from Dorset AONB - published Dec 2021

Read the summary report published in Char Chat Dec. 2021

The River Char and Monkton Wyld Stream Catchment

Is my river fit to play in? Check the online map at the Rivers Trust
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Watch BBC Panorama'a 'The River Pollution Scandal'
(In 2020 the water companies pumped raw sewage into English rivers for a total of over 3million hours)

​Read The Guardian's article - Britain oozes sewage

You can watch the AONB film that launched the River Char Community Project in summer 2021 below:

Project Funding

We are currently putting together the action programme for the next twelve months which we expect to be finalised in April. We hope to publish an update on the financing of the project then. 

For the financial year 2021/22, Dorset AONB, working in partnership with DWT and FWAG, secured funding for the River Char Community Project from:

• ‘Greening West Dorset’s Hills and Vales’, a Green Recovery Challenge Fund project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund & Defra.  
• West Dorset Rivers & Streams delivery, a Water Environment Improvement Fund project from the Environment Agency. 

 
Activity supported through this funding (some, but not all of it, in the River Char catchment) included:

• Approximately 200m of river restoration at 4 sites. 
• Engagement with farmers to address practices impacting the water environment.  

• The Project launch event – 35 members of the public attended (11/12/2021)
• Herbal ley site visit – (14/12/2021)
• Community Q&A – 37 members of the community attended (17/01/2022)
• Farm finance workshop – 6 farms represented (19/01/2021)
• Volunteer sessions x 2 – 12/02/2022 & 26/02/2022
• Project management / planning / reporting etc.
• Support for Riverfly training
• Follow up advice and support to farms after the farm finance workshop