Water Voles evolve

BEFORE: Brook alongside Alcester Road – very overgrown, full of silt and prone to overflowing

BEFORE: Culvert under the road partly blocked by a bank of silt AFTER: Bank of silt cleared from the culvert inlet to help the flow of water AFTER: Brook alongside Alcester Road – excess silt and vegetation removed

Towards the end of 2020, the North Worcestershire Water Management and Parks & Recreation teams at Bromsgrove Council worked together to undertake some much needed maintenance of the Spadesbourne Brook at Lickey End.

Prior to work commencing, a qualified ecologist pools reduce the risk of flooding to the Alcester carried out a water vole survey on the site and Road, but it also improves the habitat potential for provided the Council with advice on how to undertake water voles as they like to have areas of deeper the work to ensure no impact upon the local water to escape to when they feel threatened. While population of water voles. While surveying the site, he very elusive, you might hear their characteristic found several signs that the mammals pass through the “plop!” as they dive into the brook. site regularly and occasionally stop to feed. Later this year, subject to the latest guidelines, the

Water voles are classified as endangered in England North Worcestershire Water Management team and Wales, and Bromsgrove is lucky to be one of are hoping to arrange a small event at the Lickey the few places locally where they remain so it’s End recreation ground where locals can join in with vital that any work in or near to watercourses, in planting some native plant species along the brook particular the Spadesbourne and Battlefield Brooks, and help to remove young invasive Himalayan Balsam is undertaken with due care and consideration and plants. These tall plants with sweet smelling pink wherever possible measures are incorporated to flowers have very shallow root systems but grow enhance their habitat. rapidly and out compete native plant species; when

The work at Lickey End involved removing some they die back they leave bare banks which can lead excess vegetation from the channel along with to bank erosion and blockages which increase flood several inches of silt from the channel to improve the risk but also means less vegetation over the winter conveyance of water beneath the bridges. Two pools months for the water voles to feed on. Keep an eye adjacent to the car park were also re-connected to on NWWM’s facebook page for more information on the brook allowing them to fill with water again. Not this event go to: only does the extra capacity within the channel and www.facebook.com/northworcsflooding