Improving the River Biss

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Water Team are working collaboratively with Wiltshire Council to deliver improvements along the River Biss corridor in Trowbridge through funding awarded by the Future High Streets Fund. This is a central government programme that aims to renew and reshape the high streets and town centres to drive growth, improve the community’s experience with the town centre and ensure a sustainable future.

The Water Team has developed a suite of improvements along the River Biss in Trowbridge, aimed at improving the public realm along the corridor and providing opportunities for the community to better connect with the river. It is well known that spending time in and amongst nature has a positive effect on wellbeing, and it’s hoped the changes made through this project will create more accessible places for people to enjoy and immerse themselves in nature along the River Biss.

Enhancing the corridor for wildlife has been at the forefront of the design process. The River Biss is currently classed as ‘moderate’ under the Water Framework Directive, with physical modification listed as a contributing factor. The Water Team are working to improve the river’s in-channel habitat, within the constraints of it being heavily modified by high flood defence walls and weirs. We are also expanding the habitats available outside of the channel, including suitable habitats for pollinators, to create a sustainable future for wildlife which will support diverse species populations long after the project is completed.

The project has two elements:

Element One: Improvements along the river corridor – this includes a new seating area next to the historic Town Bridge, a viewing platform overlooking the river by the Shire’s Shopping Centre, and replacing the ground cover in the existing planters with suitable native species.

Element Two: In channel habitat enhancements – a series of features are planned to be added into the river to introduce flow diversity and provide opportunity for marginal habitat to develop. The features will be planted with suitable aquatic plants to further add to the diversity within the channel. A fish easement is also planned for one of the weirs, to ease fish passage along the river by making the obstacle (in this case the weir) less obstructive for fish to overcome.

The River Biss is a forgotten asset as it runs through a popular urban area within Trowbridge, and forms part of a key walking route. The elements outlined above are hoped to improve the community’s experience with the River Biss corridor, and promote further use of the path to move around the town centre.

Under the A Better Biss Approach project, a multi-year project that has aimed to improve the River Biss through its catchment, a river clean prior to works commencing will take place. A similar event took place in 2021 and was a great success, removing shopping trolleys, traffic cones, bikes and much more from the river.

April 2024 - Final designs for the out of channel works have been completed and a planning application has been submitted. The designs for the in-channel habitat enhancements are well underway, with hopes the applications and permits will be submitted soon.