]> 2026-04-21T05:03:13+00:00 Case study:Saving Chiswick Eyot 500 en Approved Bank stabilisation Restoration of natural vegetation Removal of invasive plants Removal of invasive species Bank improvement Natural History Museum Royal Holloway University of London MOLA Fullers Brewery University of Leicester Thames21 Port of London Authority DHI Thames Tideway The British Geological Survey Imperial College London. Great Britain Commercial partners Local charities Yes Yes Yes true Old Chiswick Conservation Area.JPG Thames21 Chiswick Eyot days.png EA flood risk level.JPG Surface flatness with breaklines labelled.jpg Volume calculation using 5m layer.jpg Bathymetry and scans.JPG 3D model of west bank.jpg Records of burrowing species in the Thames tideway.jpg East bank with new posts.JPG Animal photo capture.JPG Soil sampling Old Chiswick Conservation Area. London borough of Hounslow Thames21 volunteer poster Environment Agency flood risk level around the island Flatness of the island surface or plateau Volume calculation using 5m contour Bathymetry and scans combined 3-dimensional model of the west bank Historical records of burrowing animal species in the Thames tideway New work in 2018 to the east side Photo capture using remote cameras Jamie Standing and Dave Morritt collecting cores Yes Paul Clark 1 - 10 k€ Natural History Museum Natural History Museum Royal Holloway University of London Thames21 Restoration work using traditional willow withies has resulted in improved overall appearance and accretion to some areas of the bank. Vegetation is not growing in the silt perhaps because of a lack of oxygen. Seepage from the bank toe area is keeping the silt mobile in some areas. The current approach employed by Thames21 of incremental maintenance appears to be successful and demonstrates good cost vs. benefit, especially since partners have started to make contributions towards costs. Withies planted on the flat surface of the island by the Old Chiswick Protection Society are growing well and the willow holt, which is pollarded annually, appears to be in good condition. The withies produced by the pollarding are bundled by the OCPS and volunteers and used to provide structure behind the spiling and fascines. It might be useful at this point to consider additional techniques such as rolls of rocks (rocks bundled into mesh 'socks') at the areas of the bank toe with seepage. Thames21 has also mentioned using different species of aquatic plants. Old Chiswick Conservation Area Metropolitan Green Belt Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature London Basin Natural Area Strategic Nature Conservation Site 51.4875,-0.24583299999995 Mobilitydream Martin Natural History Museum Richardson Reducing bank side collapse (source of sediment) Bank stabilisation, Restoration of natural vegetation, Removal of invasive plants, Removal of invasive species, Bank improvement,,, ,Reducing bank side collapse (source of sediment),,Awareness raising, Community involvement, Citizen participation in the restoration project, the site is used by several schools and Thames Explorer Trust, Martin Richardson 1 - 10 k€ Natural History Museum Very accurate baseline surveys have been completed. Preliminary assessment indicates a current rate of retreat of the banks at around 1m per decade, or approximately 10cm annually. A large amount of material has accumulated behind the spiling and facines which are being well maintained. Additional work, installation of supporting posts and fascines, has commenced on the east side of the island. Paul Martin Viv Clark Richardson 21375 DHI, Fullers Brewery, Imperial College London., MOLA, Port of London Authority, Royal Holloway University of London, University of Leicester, Thames21, Thames Tideway, The British Geological Survey Surface of the Eyot showing features and elevation Paul Clark 1 - 10 k€ Natural History Museum Elevation colour map.JPG 2014-12-23Z 2457014.5 In progress Project team * Martin Richardson, PhD student RHUL & NHM. * Therese Tobin, Old Chiswick Protection Society, OCPS. * Thames21. * Dr. Chris Vane, British Geological Survey. * Dr. Jamie Standing, Imperial College, University of London. * Heena Sheth, MSc. student Imperial College University of London. Site Designations Old Chiswick Conservation Area, London Borough of Hounslow, 1969; Metropolitan Green Belt; Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, Greater London Authority (GLA),1990; Local Nature Reserve, London Borough of Hounslow, 1993; London Basin Natural Area, 1997; Strategic Nature Conservation Site, London Borough of Hounslow,1999; Selection of Reports 1990 Chiswick Eyot, The London Ecology Unit; 1996 The Chinese mitten crab in the Thames Catchment, Environment Agency, Thomas and Yeomans; 1998 Effects of burrowing Chinese mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) on the Thames Tideway Dutton & Conroy, Environment Agency; 1999 Erosion assessment using flags, BSc. Dissertation, University of Westminster; 1999 MSc. Thesis: Burrow distribution of the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) at Syon park flood meadow (SSSI), Zucco, UCL; 2000 Chiswick Eyot, River Thames, London Borough of Hounslow. A foreshore earthwork survey, Museum of London Archaeology; 2000 Chiswick Eyot Management plan 2001-2005, London Borough of Hounslow; 2002 Survey of Chiswick Eyot,Thames explorer trust; 2011 Chiswick Eyot Habitat Management Plan,Thames21; 2013 Chiswick Eyot Local Nature Reserve report, Ecology Department, Carillion integrated Services Description Island habitat in the Thames is rare and several, as with the lost rivers of the Thames catchment, have been degraded over time, all are now threatened by rising sea-levels. Indeed at one point there may have been more, small eyots which have now disappeared. Chiswick Eyot is a historically important island close by Chiswick Mall. What was, before the introduction of plastics, an economically important willow holt of several hundred trees has been maintained since the middle ages. Husbandry has lapsed at times with the island showing periods of low growth particularly when the area became industrialised with heavy barge traffic, gravel pits at Barnes and the Thonycroft shipyard at Chiswick for example. Later, a survey by Dr Oliver Natelson conducted in 2002 found 554 living and 319 dead trees. However, the OCPS has managed and funded annual pollarding of the willows since the 1950's. A complete biological survey funded by Defra, Thames Water and the OCPS, was carried out by Brian Wurzell and others for the Thames Explorer Trust in 2001-2002 as a follow-up to a previous survey by the London Ecology Unit in 1990. Erosion first became a concern in the mid-1940's when it was realised that the surface area had declined by nearly 40%. Both ends of the island had receded and overall length decreased by nearly '100 yds.' Restoration work has continued since that time and several ecological studies have been conducted by the Environment Agency, Hounslow Council, and the Thames Explorer Trust. We are working with an ‘ecosystem’ of partners to address the problem of maintaining the island employing best practice techniques. Restoration work is being conducted by Thames21 and a variety of survey techniques are being used to understand processes affecting the island. An initial 3D scan of almost the entire eyot was conducted in 2016 in association with the University of Leicester and Leica Geosystems. The scan was repeated in 2017. Analysis of the data will provide greater understanding of the processes at work and enable visualisation of any changes occurring as well as determination of the rate of erosion. In addition, several hundred digital photographs were taken of areas of particular interest over a 3-year period to provide a visual record, these will also be used to develop point clouds as supplementary data. Bi-monthly conventional topographic surveys of part of one bank were undertaken by MoLA in 1999 and 2000 allowing for decadal scale assessment of the erosion. High resolution aerial photographs and digitized historical Ordnance Survey maps are available dating back to at least the 1930s and these will be used to assess changes in surface area and any migration of the banks generally. We have engaged with the local community and formed partnerships with other commercial, charitable, academic and volunteer organisations including Thames21, the River Restoration Centre, Leica Geosystems, DHI, MoLA, and Royal Holloway University of London. Saving Chiswick Eyot saving chiswick eyot http://www.savingchiswickeyot.com Yes 290 London Thames Thames Middle thames middle UK - Local Nature Reserve Chiswick Eyot chiswick eyot Awareness raising Community involvement Citizen participation in the restoration project the site is used by several schools and Thames Explorer Trust Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera ) Smelt Chinese mitten crab European eel (Anguilla anguilla) Veronica anagallis aquatica Garden angelica Marsh Ragwort Phragmites australis buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) Martin Richardson Less than 1 k€ Royal Holloway University of London Less than 10 km² THAMES MIDDLE GB530603911402 Economic aspects Environmental flows and water resources Fisheries Flood risk management Habitat and biodiversity Hydromorphology Land use management - forestry Monitoring Social benefits Water quality Urban Estuary 50 - 100 k€ Intertidal GB530603911402 Thames Middle Viv Richardson 100 - 500 k€ Thames21 2015-02-20T14:33:46Z 2457074.1067824 2024-09-16T13:46:14Z 2460570.0737732 Saving Chiswick Eyot 500 1 plainlist 5 [[Category:Case study]] [[Project title::!Saving Chiswick Eyot]] [[Subcatchment title::THAMES MIDDLE]] Saving Chiswick Eyot# QUERY20bbc067b328247083c4a62f62224eb4 500 1 list 3 [[Category:Case study]] [[Parent project::Case study:Saving Chiswick Eyot]] Saving Chiswick Eyot# QUERY9b033c06b3d666292c22bf36815bf154 500 [2,"smw_nofloat","High"] Saving Chiswick Eyot# ERRf7fd07dec5b4c3a7b418777bdcf565a7