Here you can view our previous updates from the last couple of years restoring Toddbrook.
Update 21 October 2021
Planning application submitted for permanent repair plan
We've submitted a planning application to High Peak Borough Council for the permanent repair plan for Toddbrook Reservoir in Whaley Bridge.
The proposal features construction of a new overflow side channel weir, ‘tumble bay', spillway channel and stilling basin on the northern side of the dam. This then links into the existing bypass channel, which joins the River Goyt in the town's Memorial Park.
The visual impact of the concrete structures will be reduced by natural stone cladding on most of the exterior side walls above ground level and wall heights will be kept as low as possible.
The planning application also includes a proposal to replace the current sailing club facilities, which will be impacted by the new spillway. Plans feature a new clubhouse, boat storage, slipway and car parking, located on a site behind the proposed tumble bay.
The 1970s overflow spillway overlooking the park, which was damaged in summer 2019, will be de-commissioned, the concrete panels removed and the dam slope grassed over. The original 1840s spillway, near the existing sailing club, will also be removed and some of the stone reclaimed and re-used as cladding on the exterior walls of the new structures.
The Trust has been working closely with engineering and consultancy firm Arup to prepare the detailed plans after carrying out extensive technical investigations and design work. If the application is approved, the construction project will be delivered by the Trust's main contractor Kier.
Temporary site compound on the Memorial Park
In order to carry out the essential repairs, the Trust intends to set up a temporary site compound at the northern end of the Memorial Park, next to the dam. Following feedback from local residents, a footpath will be retained across the park, connecting Wharf Road along the river to the Memorial Park bridge, providing a viewing point for the construction site.
During the works the playground will unfortunately have to be removed but will be replaced with alternative temporary play equipment at the top of the dam next to Whaley Bridge Athletic Football Club. A new playground, similar to the existing one, will be rebuilt at the same location in the Memorial Park at the end of the project in 2024. The park will be re-landscaped, with extra footpaths and a new footbridge over the bypass channel.
Access for construction vehicles into the site compound will be along Reservoir Road. There will be no temporary traffic lights at weekends or evenings and the Trust will arrange for weekday construction traffic to be managed by having staff on duty with ‘stop' and ‘go' signs and radios to provide a more personal and interactive traffic management service.
What next?
This major repair project is estimated to cost £12 - £16 million and work is due to start in spring 2022, subject to planning permission. A number of trees will need to be felled to make way for the construction of the new spillway but the Trust has worked closely with the council to discuss replacement planting and habitat creation, which is predicted to achieve a net biodiversity gain of more than 10%.
The major construction project on the dam will be followed by works to the inlet cascade, at the far end of the reservoir, to increase its resilience to high flows from the Toddbrook stream. The whole project is expected to take about two years to complete and the reservoir re-opened to the public in summer 2024. High volume pumps will remain in the reservoir to manage water levels until the end of the restoration project.
For more information, email [email protected], call 0808 196 8809 or write to Freepost CRT Toddbrook.
Update 28 June 2021
Public Consultation into the repair plan for Toddbrook Reservoir
Many thanks to everyone who responded to the recent public consultation into the repair plan for Toddbrook Reservoir. We are very grateful to all residents, businesses and organisations who took the time to share their views with us, either online or at the face-to-face events at the Transhipment Warehouse in Whaley Bridge.
Our project team and consultants Arup will now carefully consider all responses and feedback before a planning application for the work is submitted to High Peak Borough Council later this year.
Here are copies of the display boards shared at the consultation:
Following recent enquiries, we are implementing further measures to manage the level of noise coming from our on-site generators. We do appreciate that the generators cause noise and we are keen to minimise this where practicable.
The need for on-site generators
The site compound generators provide power for the operation of the high volume pumps, ensuring we are always ready to safely manage the reservoir water level and remain resilient to unexpected storm events until the project has been completed. In addition to providing power to operate the pumps, the generators also power the pump set up telemetry (data recording equipment) and welfare facilities. This means that units are required to run even when water is not being pumped from the reservoir. These measures are in line with a robust Water Assurance & Management Plan, which has been agreed between the Environment Agency and Canal & River Trust.
Managing generator noise
While all systems in use are fully compliant with the relevant standards and legislation, through our ongoing engagement with the Council and their Environmental Health department, we will be:
Improving the acoustic barriers around the compound
Installing new battery-hybrid generators in place of the previous generators powering the welfare and telemetry equipment. As a result, while these generators will still run continuously, they will operate more quietly overnight through battery power
Installing a separate containerised generator, which will now only run when reservoir water levels rise and the pumps are therefore required to start.
Collectively, we are confident these measures will reduce the level of noise being caused by our required ongoing works to manage the reservoir. We recognise that Toddbrook Reservoir has close neighbours, and we appreciate the feedback we have received on this.
Update 23 March 2021
The proposed reservoir repair plan
Last year we consulted on two shortlisted spillway options for permanently restoring Toddbrook Reservoir. Since then, our team has been working hard to identify and progress the design for an optimal solution. This has involved considering a range of factors, including the good level of consultation feedback we received and further technical assessments which have been undertaken.
This work has informed our decision to develop a new spillway off the left (north) side of the dam.
Our plan for the permanent repair of Toddbrook Reservoir features the construction of:
a new side channel weir, where water will overflow into a ‘tumble bay'
a new spillway channel off the left (north / sailing club) side of the reservoir dam
a stilling basin at the end of the spillway to receive water
a channel through the park to connect to the River Goyt in the existing location
This will then allow us to de-commission the existing auxiliary spillway, and grass over the reservoir dam, as well as filling sections of the existing bywash channel to return as usable space.
We have produced a Non-Technical Summary that explains more about our proposals, including how we reached this decision and how we have considered the feedback we received.
We are also publishing a more detailed technical note, which contains information on the engineering assessments we have undertaken to develop our proposals. This Technical Note has been compiled by our specialist engineering design consultants Arup.
Plan of the new route for a side channel weir, 'tumble bay', spillway channel and stilling basin, connecting into the River Goyt.
Repairing the reservoir is a huge engineering challenge and safety is our top priority. The new spillway will unfortunately require the relocation of the Sailing Club clubhouse and slipway. We appreciate this will have a substantial impact on the club but we are committed to working with them to ensure we provide suitable replacement buildings, boat storage and slipway to safeguard their continued use of the reservoir once the project is complete.
Our work will require changes to the northern area of the park. The play area will ultimately have to be moved slightly, and we will carry out landscaping works to ensure that when finished, the park remains an enjoyable and open public space. We are working with High Peak Borough Council to develop our proposals to ensure this happens as sensitively as possible.
During the construction phase, part of the park will unfortunately have to be closed, but we hope to be able to move some of the play equipment to an alternative location.
The use of a side channel weir allows us to connect the existing reservoir bywash into the top of the tumble bay, which will mean water flows down the spillway at all times, and then connects into the River Goyt via a channel through the park. We were guided in this design modification by public feedback indicating that a continuous flow of water down the spillway was preferable to having a predominantly dry channel.
Artist impression of the view towards the reservoir from the Memorial Park. Concrete panels on the current spillway will be removed and replaced with a grassy bank.
What happens next?
The long term repair design has been guided by modern engineering best practice and was shaped by feedback from residents who took part in the public consultation last September.
Our specialist engineers and project team have carried out extensive technical investigations and design work, considered all of the feedback we received and tried to accommodate the best engineering option within the landscape. We are continuing to develop our proposals, particularly in regards to how we interact with key local areas and facilities, such as the play area of the park and Toddbrook Sailing Club. A second public consultation into the proposed plan will be organised for late spring/early summer, in advance of a planning application to High Peak Borough Council. The consultation is likely to be online due to the coronavirus restrictions and more details will be posted here shortly.
High volume pumps will remain in the reservoir to manage water levels until the end of the restoration project.
Update 6 November 2020
Thank you once again to everyone who took part in our public consultation in September. Over 1,000 people visited our virtual consultation room online, 151 attended one of our drop-in events in Whaley Bridge on 18 and 19 September, and we received 325 responses across our digital, feedback form and email channels.
Your comments matter to us and we appreciate the strong response that you took the time to share. We are now taking the time to carefully consider all feedback received.
During the consultation we presented two possible options for restoring the reservoir:
60% of people told us they preferred Option A (A new ‘bathtub' weir and spillway channel on the left hand end of dam)
30% preferred Option B; (A new ‘tumblebay' weir and spillway on the right hand end of dam)
and 10% of responses had no preference.
We also asked what local benefits you would like to see from the restoration:
59% of people supported keeping the new spillway open and transforming this into a water feature where it passes through the park;
the most popular suggestion for other community enhancements was for a circular walking route around the reservoir using the new inlet footbridge, which 30% of responses preferred;
21% of people told us they had a preference for tree planting and more flowers;
19% of responses wanted to see a woodland walk with improved footpaths and information boards on ecology, with 16% of people also preferring improved footpath surfaces;
the most popular artistic interpretation to be included as part of the new footbridge was for information on environmental features such as reservoir wildlife (29%);
and other popular suggestions for information boards included local reservoir/canal history (22%), or the story of the 2019 incident (21%).
This feedback is now being carefully considered alongside a range of environmental and technical criteria, such as how best to ensure reservoir safety and manage potential local impacts, as we work to develop a preferred repair option. As part of this, you may notice members of our team and machinery undertaking ground investigations around the site as we gather more information to develop our proposal.
Once this process has been completed, we will publish further information to explain the progress we have made in developing a solution. This will include our response to your feedback and how this has helped shape the preferred option.
In the meantime, we committed to provide detailed information on how the two options we consulted on were selected from the long list of possible options we initially considered. We have now published our full Options Report. This details the process undertaken to identify the long list of options for the restoration, the criteria used to assess these, and the reasons other options were discounted.
We look forward to continuing the conversation on this project in the coming months. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions regarding the information in our Option report or Initial Consultation summary; the repair project, or our ongoing management of Toddbrook Reservoir. See below for contact details.
Last Edited: 29 March 2022
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