Chester Wetlands
What is it?
Chester Wetlands is a shovel-ready, blended-finance nature recovery and urban wellbeing investment located at Finchett’s Gutter, a tributary of the River Dee in north-west Chester, adjacent to the Countess of Chester Hospital and Countess of Chester Country Park.
The project combines river restoration, constructed wetlands, wet meadow creation and public access infrastructure to deliver a high-visibility, multi-benefit nature-based solution within an urban-edge environment.
The scheme will restore a degraded tributary of the River Dee through natural channel re-profiling, or “re-wiggling”, alongside constructed treatment wetlands designed to improve water quality, reconnect floodplains and strengthen ecological resilience.
The location next to a major hospital, public greenspace and the Shropshire Union Canal creates exceptional wellbeing, education and social value opportunities alongside measurable environmental outcomes.
The project is design complete and at tender-ready construction stage, with approximately £250,000 already invested in development, surveys and engineering.
Why is this needed? / Why are we doing this?
Historic channel modification and drainage interventions have reduced the ecological function of Finchett’s Gutter, disconnecting it from its floodplain and limiting its ability to naturally filter water, support biodiversity and manage flood risk.
At the same time, there is increasing demand for visible, measurable nature-based solutions that deliver environmental resilience, climate adaptation and public wellbeing benefits in highly accessible urban locations.
Chester Wetlands has been developed as a flagship demonstration project showing how urban wetlands can simultaneously support biodiversity recovery, flood resilience, climate mitigation, water management and community wellbeing.
The project also provides a scalable model for wider catchment-based investment and blended-finance delivery across Cheshire.
What is it going to deliver?
The project will deliver major ecological and hydrological restoration works, including:
- Re-meandering (“re-wiggling”) of Finchett’s Gutter
- Approximately 1,580m of new sinuous river channel
- Creation of berms, riffles and marginal planting
- Infilled canalised channel reaches
- Three treatment reedbeds covering approximately 0.62 hectares
- Wetland scrapes covering approximately 0.17 hectares
- Bank lowering to reconnect the watercourse with its floodplain
- Wet woodland creation across approximately 1 hectare
- Woodland enhancement across approximately 6 hectares
- Creation of low-nutrient wet meadow and coastal grazing marsh habitat
- Improved water quality through constructed treatment wetlands
- Restored river morphology and floodplain connectivity
Stage 2 – People, Access and Visibility
The project will also deliver significant public access and engagement improvements, including:
- Viewing platforms
- Formal access routes
- Interpretation infrastructure
- Education infrastructure
- Volunteering and community stewardship opportunities
- Enhanced public access to nature and wellbeing benefits
Estimated Cost:
£600,000
Secured and committed funding includes:
- Networks for Nature Stage 1 contribution: £125,000
- Networks for Nature Stage 2 contribution: £124,000
The project is currently seeking match funding to complete delivery and support long-term management.
Delivery Status:
- Design complete
- Surveys and engineering complete
- Tender-ready construction stage
- Approximately £250,000 sunk development cost already invested
- Publicly owned and partner land reducing land-risk
- Established visitor base and active Friends Group
- Phased delivery model enabling capital stacking and risk sharing
Funding Ask:
We are seeking blended-finance partners to close the remaining funding gap and unlock immediate construction delivery of a flagship urban wetlands scheme.
Capital can be structured as:
- Grant or philanthropic match funding
- ESG or impact capital contribution
- Place-based investment aligned to health, climate, biodiversity or wellbeing outcome.
Finchett’s Gutter, north-west Chester, adjacent to Countess of Chester Hospital and Countess of Chester Country Park.
Urban wetland, river restoration and public access corridor connected to the wider River Dee catchment.
Local Authority Area:
Cheshire West and Chester.
Design complete and tender-ready, with phased construction delivery and long-term management.
Lead Partner:
Networks for Nature, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Environmental delivery partners, Community and stewardship groups, Friends Group.
Impact and Returns:
Environmental & Climate
- 6,690 tonnes of carbon stored between years 5–50
- Equivalent to approximately 24,484 tCO₂e
- 240 tonnes of PM10 absorbed per year
- Improved water quality through treatment wetlands
- Restored river morphology and floodplain connectivity
- Increased biodiversity and habitat resilience
- Wetland, woodland and floodplain habitat creation
Flood & Climate Resilience
- Natural flood management potential through floodplain reconnection
- Reduced downstream flood risk to properties and infrastructure
- Improved floodplain storage and hydrological resilience
- Increased resilience to climate-driven rainfall events
Social & Economic Value
- Immediate adjacency to Countess of Chester Hospital, creating strong wellbeing benefits
- Countess of Chester Country Park is a major greenspace on the western side of the city
- Provides improved access to the Shropshire Union Canal
- Supports education, volunteering and community stewardship
- Creates a highly visible flagship urban nature recovery project
- Strengthens placemaking and public access to green infrastructure
Why Blended Finance is the Right Model
Chester Wetlands has been specifically structured to combine multiple forms of investment and funding.
Public and Statutory Funding
• Supports Water Framework Directive outcomes
• Supports LNRS priorities and natural flood management objectives
• De-risks delivery through public land ownership and completed technical design
Philanthropic and Charitable Investment
• Enables visitor infrastructure, education and interpretation
• Supports long-term stewardship and community engagement
• Expands impact beyond statutory minimum requirements
Private, ESG and Place-based Investment
• Delivers measurable carbon, air quality and health benefits
• Strong ESG narrative linked to climate resilience, nature recovery and wellbeing
• High-footfall, high-visibility location adjacent to hospital and public greenspace
Blended finance enables faster delivery, shared risk and maximised impact per pound invested.
LNRS Priorities and Actions / LNP Goals:
This project aligns with the following Cheshire Local Nature Partnership goals:
Goal One
Increase contribution of nature-based solutions to address the ecological and climate crises.
Goal Two
Increase connection between people and nature including raising awareness of nature.
Goal Three
Increase value of investment into nature.
Goal Four
Mainstream nature recovery to ensure Cheshire becomes nature positive by 2030.
The project also supports priorities linked to:
• Water resilience
• Natural flood management
• Biodiversity recovery
• Climate resilience
• Public wellbeing
• Urban placemaking
• Water Framework Directive outcomes
• LNRS delivery
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