Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne Catchment
- Catchment HostThames21 & Thames Chase Trust
- River Basin DistrictThames
- Management CatchmentRoding Beam and Ingrebourne
- Management Catchment ID3071
Catchment partnership vision
The Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne (RBI) Catchment Partnership recognises the importance of our rivers and waterbodies and the need for their sustainable management. By 2027, it is aimed that the RBI catchment will meet the objectives of river basin planning and achieve Good Ecological Potential. This will involve providing naturally functioning ecosystems that support diverse and thriving wildlife. This will aid the catchment to become a destination of choice for recreation and leisure, valued by local communities. By 2027 the catchment will be free from pollution and Invasive Non-Native species and have a reduced siltation problem. This will have been achieved through implementing an effective Catchment Based Approach that will result in strong partnerships between communities, businesses, landowners and managers. Through realising this vision the RBI should be viewed as an exemplar catchment that has achieved on the ground improvements.
Related websites
Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.
Catchment challenges
Current challenges identified by partnership
Pollution from towns, cities and transport
Densely populated lower catchment
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
Diffuse agricultural pollution from a rural upper catchment
Physical modifications
Rivers straightened and culverted in many places
Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership
Connecting communities with nature
Communities are largely unaware of the challenges their local river faces
Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
Storm overflows and drainage incidents are frequently impacting water quality within the urban catchment
Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
Land must be set aside within the river corridor to address the biodiversity crisis
Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
Climate change poses increased risk of flooding, pollution and drought
Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
The Catchment Partnership can play an important role in influencing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
Plastic pollution is an expansive problem in the catchment, impacting wildlife and preventing people from enjoying their blue spaces
Future challenges predicted by partnership
Pollution from waste water
Densely populated lower catchment with frequent waste water pollution events
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
Intensively farmed upper catchment leading to large scale diffuse pollution and sediment run off
Pollution from towns, cities and transport
Heavily urbanised lower catchment, with a number of roads identified as significant sources of road run-off pollution
Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency
Future challenges in 2050
- Invasive Non-native Species
- Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
- Pollution from waste water
Emerging challenges
- Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
- Pollution from waste water
- Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021
The RBI catchment partnership has seen an increase in the level of collaborative working and discussion between partners throughout the last WFD cycle. Within the River Roding catchment, local stakeholders and community groups have been engaged through citizen science water quality surveys and a programme of Outfall Safari walkovers. Physical work along the River Roding and Seven Kings Water catchment also includes rubbish clearance, the incorporation of in-channel features and the clearing of invasive Himalayan Balsam. Within the River Ingrebourne catchment at Pages Wood, partnership working between The Land of the Fanns project and five other partner groups has resulted in improvements being made to the floodplain habitat, with a number of wetland scrapes and ponds excavated. The Land of the Fanns project has also led to collaborative working between a number of partners in the river Rom/Beam catchment, where work has been completed to restore the river and wetlands within Grenfell Park whilst engaging local community groups. A partnership project within Ingrebourne Marshes SSSI has been working to utilise volunteer groups to restore the natural fenland habitat features.
Partnership development plans
There will be a focus on increasing the membership of the partnership and engaging groups from a wider sector, including landowners and farmers from the catchments rural areas. An updated, more dynamic governance structure will facilitate greater engagement of partners. New ways of working will be trialled which include smaller, targeted working groups and site-based partnership meetings. A wider selection of projects will be developed in preparation for funding.
Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027
Confident
Enhancement/no deterioration measures in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage point source discharges
- Delivery mechanism
- Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
- Location
- Roding Beam and Ingrebourne
Confident
Seven Kings Water catchment restoration through Hainault Forest and Seven Kings Park
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Location
- Seven Kings Water
Confident
Essex Wildlife Trust project to eradicate mink within the Essex catchments
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage invasive non-native species
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- Roding Beam and Ingrebourne
Confident
Deculverting Seven Kings Water through Westwood Recreation Ground
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- Seven Kings Water
Confident
Romford Town Centre Improvement Project including habitat improvements to the River Rom
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Developer funded
- Location
- Rom (Bourne Brook to Ravensbourne)
Confident
Habitat improvements to the lower Rom through The Chase LNR
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- Rom (Bourne Brook to Ravensbourne)
Less certain
Deculverting Gores Brook through Parsloes Park
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding sources need identifying
- Location
- Gores Brook
Less certain
Increase fish and eel passage across priority weir and barrier structures
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Delivery partners and funding sources need identifying
- Location
- Roding Beam and Ingrebourne
Less certain
Yellow Fish Project at Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage point source discharges
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Project needs developing and funding sources need identifying
- Location
- Ingrebourne
Less certain
Wanstead Park lake improvements, wetland creation and habitat improvements to the neighbouring River Roding
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding sources need identifying
- Location
- Lower Roding (Loughton to Thames)
Less certain
Restoration of Gores Brook through Goresbrook Park
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding sources need securing
- Location
- Gores Brook
Less certain
Engage farmers in the upper Roding catchment to reduce diffuse pollution sources
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding sources need securing
- Location
- Upper Roding (to Cripsey Brook)
Wider water environment
Creation of a linear riverside park following the Roding between Barking and Ilford
- Reason for measure
- Connecting communities with nature
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- Lower Roding (Loughton to Thames)
Wider water environment
The Thames and Tributaries Plasticblitz
- Reason for measure
- Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- Roding Beam and Ingrebourne
Catchment Partnership contributors
Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership:
- Havering Wildlife Project
- Groundwork East
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
- Environment Agency
- London Borough of Havering
- Thames Chase Trust
- City of London Corporation
- River Roding Trust
- Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure
- Essex and Suffolk Water
- Essex Wildlife Trust
- Natural England
- Land of The Fanns Landscape Partnership Scheme
- Thames Water
- Thames 21
- London Borough of Redbridge