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Towpath Improvement Completed On The Navigable River Lee

The River Lee Country Park is one of the many attractions which make up the Lee Valley Regional Park.

The River Lee Country Park has been transformed from old gravel pits into attractive countryside and although the landscape is less than a hundred years old, the flooded gravel pits and grassland make for an ideal habitat for birds and insects with much of the area being designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

British Waterways has completed a £216k visitor improvements' project on a one mile stretch of towpath on the River Lee in Hertfordshire, creating a four mile wheelchair and pushchair friendly route.

The improvement works, which started in October 2009, were carried out by BW’s contractors, May Gurney and included the widening and resurfacing of the towpath from Waltham Common Lock to Cheshunt Lock. The towpath was widened up to 1.6 metres in places.

The River Lee stretches 26 miles through the heart of the Lee Valley Regional Park, which provides miles of green open space, lakes and waterways to explore by visitors and is home to a huge variety of water loving wildlife. The towpath enhancement works will improve access not only to the river, but also to the nearby country park.

Antonia Zotali, British Waterways’ senior project manager said: “This section of the River Lee Navigation is extremely popular with walkers, cyclists and anglers and as a result the towpath, which is over 20 years old, had become worn and uneven, meaning that when it rained some very large puddles were created.

The improvements that British Waterways has made will ensure that everyone can have safe and easy access to the river and surrounding park all year round.”

Since 2007 the towpath between Waltham Town Lock and Old Nazing Road on the River Lee has been improved after a funding grant was awarded to BW from the Department for Communities and Local Governments’ Green Arch Growth Area Project. This latest improvement means that over four miles of towpath is now wheelchair and pushchair friendly.

As well as carrying out improvements to the towpath, benches along the stretch were repaired, lock furniture and mooring bollards were given a fresh coat of paint and muddy areas were rolled flat and seeded with grass seed.

The Bittern Information Point in River Lee Country Park offers good sightings of birds, including Bittern, Smew, Goosander, Common Terns, Reed Warbler and Hobby, a small summer bird of prey. The Bittern Information Point is easily accessible with good paths.