MERSEY RIVERS TRUST SECURES FUNDING TO IMPROVE FISH LIFE IN THE RIVER TONGE, NEAR BOLTON

FUNDING WILL ENABLE PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK FOR REMOVING THREE DISUSED WEIRS ON THE RIVER TONGE AROUND WATERS MEET LANE, BOLTON, GREATER MANCHESTER  

Mersey Rivers Trust has been awarded a grant from the European Open Rivers programme to carry out planning and design work to remove three disused weirs on the River Tonge around Waters Meet Lane, north Bolton, Greater Manchester. 

The Mersey Rivers Trust is a charity focused on improving rivers for people and wildlife. It has an ambitious 30-year fish improvement strategy for all the Mersey rivers, including the River Tonge, a tributary of the River Irwell.

The European Open Rivers Programme is a grant giving organisation dedicated to restoring rivers across the European continent and funded by a charitable foundation, Arcadia.

The weirs on the River Tonge are just three of many hundreds of disused weirs across the Mersey rivers that have been left behind from previous industrial activities but which prevent the free movement of fish. The weir is too high for fish to be able to swim over it and move upstream in the River Tonge to reach their spawning grounds. 

John Sanders, co-Director at the Mersey Rivers Trust commented: “We are delighted to have secured funding from the European Open Rivers programme and be part of an ambitious programme across Europe to open up rivers for fish movement. We are very grateful for the funding from the European Open Rivers programme which will allow us to start planning measures to improve fish life in the River Tonge.”

“We will use the funding to design the safe removal of the weir, obtain environmental permissions and confirm the cost of the removal work.  Further funding will then be sought to carry out the weir removal”.