Watercourse creation on Sheep's Green local nature reserve

Open for comments from Friday 26 September to Sunday 19 October 2025.

Sheep’s Green Local Nature Reserve is one of the city’s core riverside sites for nature.

We are committed to improving these sites for wildlife and people through our Biodiversity Strategy, working in partnership with The Cambridge Nature Network.

Building on the successful restoration of ‘The Rush’ stream on Sheep’s Green local nature reserve, we propose to allow further flow from the River Cam into the reserve along existing seasonally dry channels.

Site wide plan of proposals

Site wide plan (view larger version)

We would ensure there is minimal excavation and soil movement in order to reduce impact on the grassland and ensure the roots of the veteran willow pollards are not damaged.

The existing surfaced riverside footpaths will be retained and bridges either renovated or replaced to ensure access is not restricted across the common.

Increased flow through these channels will create many new dynamic habitats for aquatic plants, insects, and fish, which in turn will provide cover and food for species such as Little Egret, Grey Heron, Kingfisher, Eel and Brown Trout.

The plans include potential partnership working with Darwin College to improve the flow rate of water in the existing ditch between Sheep’s Green and their island.

The existing ditch has limited wildlife value as it is steep sided, heavily shaded by trees, with deep silt due to lack of flow. One option would be to fill in this ditch and create an entirely new channel to take the increased flow.

This would ensure the new channel received enough light and has a gradient that maintains a steady flow to reduce the build-up of silt and create more diverse habitats.

If this approach was not supported or deliverable an alternative option is to direct the restored flow via the eastern dry ditch into the mill pond by Bishops Sluice. This option would require an additional crossing to retain public and vehicle access.

The proposal complements the work of the Greater Cambridge Chalk Stream Project, and we will undertake baseline and ongoing monitoring to see how the habitats establish and which species colonise.

Have your say

We are consulting at this concept stage to understand if there is a local appetite for these works before embarking on detailed designs and seeking relevant consents for working near rivers and on common land.

Select the 'Take the survey' button on this page to have your say.

A hard copy version of this survey can be downloaded here:

• Watercourse creation on Sheep's Green local nature reserve

If you are completing a hard copy survey, please return it to our Customer Service Centre in person or via post at the following address:

Communications and Engagement Team, Customer Service Centre, Mandela House, 4 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1BY

The survey closes on Sunday 19 October 2025. Any responses received after this date will not be considered.

If you are in need of any further assistance, please email us at communications@cambridge.gov.uk.

Next steps

We will review all comments in determining whether to move forward to detailed design and procurement for delivery in 2026.