Colne Estuary Project Kicks Off

The Environment Agency started this week the construction works on a major extension to Essex Wildlife Trust’s Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve, on the Colne estuary.

The estuary has national and international designations due to its conservation importance and has recently been included in the Marine Conservation Zone designation.

The project, which is a partnership between the Trust and the Agency, will see 22 hectares of new intertidal habitat created by breaching the existing seawall – allowing the tide to enter the site. The habitat will be a mix of saltmarsh, mudflat and saline lagoon, with a further 1.5 hectares of new reedbed.

Andy May, Conservation Manager for Essex Wildlife Trust, said: “This is a very exciting project, which will make much-loved Fingringhoe Wick even better for wildlife and people. We are really looking forward to working in partnership again with the Environment Agency to bring this important work to fruition.”

Over the next four months new seawalls will be built to the north and south of the proposed intertidal habitat and it is hoped the breach will be created in the autumn.

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