Sussex Partnership Helps Wildlife With River Restoration
Fish and wildlife are set to thrive on the River Ouse after a major river restoration project removed a long‑standing barrier and reconnected vital habitats.
Restoring the Cockhaise Brook
Southern Water has supported the removal of a deteriorating concrete culvert on the Cockhaise Brook (a tributary on the River Ouse near Haywards Heath) replacing it with a new clear‑span bridge that allows water, fish, and sediment to move naturally through the river once again.
The scheme, delivered with the Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust and supported by the Environment Agency, is part of the Breaking Barriers programme — a wider effort to restore natural river processes and open up hundreds of kilometres of river habitat across Sussex. (The image shows how it looked like before this work was done)
For decades, the culvert had restricted flow and blocked fish movement upstream. Its removal now restores daylight, natural flow patterns and access to spawning and feeding grounds for species including brown trout, sea trout and eels.
Alongside the bridge installation, the project also included:
- Reprofiling riverbanks to create more natural shapes
- Planting native riverside vegetation
- Adding gravel and large woody material to improve habitat and fish spawning conditions
- Tackling invasive Himalayan balsam to support biodiversity
Rachel Paget, Head of Rivers & Catchments from the Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust said:
“Barrier removal is a cost-effective and proven method of restoring river health and ecosystem function, and we cannot thank the landowners enough for their support and our funding partners – Southern Water and Environment Agency for enabling this important river connection work to go ahead.”
Richard Burr of the Environment Agency said:
"Thanks to effective collaborative working, supported through the Water Environment Improvement Fund, we are delighted to be working closely with partners on this fantastic project.
"Breaking Barriers will deliver significant environmental benefits by improving fish passage, restoring natural processes and enhancing biodiversity.
"Through strong partnership working, we have been able to maximise environmental outcomes, while delivering against our core goals of healthy land and water, supporting nature recovery and increasing resilience to climate change in the most cost-effective way.”
Molly Crookshank, Biodiversity Net Gain Delivery Lead at Southern Water said:
“The on-site habitat creation at the Staplefield wetland and off‑site river enhancement at Cockhaise Brook with Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust and support of the Environment Agency, has resulted in a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) of more than 10%.”
Southern Water is delivering BNG across its planning projects and has started implementation ahead of mandatory requirements.