Enhancements at Spider Park

Enhancement works to re-naturalise a section of the Yeading Brook West have recently been successfully delivered at Spider Park, a large public open space area in South Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. This ambitious project, funded through the Smarter Water Catchments (SWC) initiative and also by the HS2 Community and Environment Fund, has transformed this stretch of watercourse, benefiting both wildlife and local people.

The Yeading Brook West at Spider Park was in the past widened and straightened. This is not unusual – indeed much of the Crane river system has been modified in this way over the years, often for flood relief purposes. But traditional river engineering of this type has a negative impact on wildlife, reducing the diversity and quality of the available habitat. So London Borough of Hillingdon (the landowner), working closely with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and with the support of CVP, took steps to remedy the situation. 

There were three key elements to the enhancement works. Firstly, a section of the brook was re-profiled by introducing some meanders and a two-stage channel. This involved the use of an excavator. Once this element had been completed, large pieces of woody debris were introduced into the channel to improve ecological processes. Finally, a number of volunteering sessions were held in Spring 2025 that involved seeding, plug planting, gravel recharging and the reduction of overshading. 

A major intervention of this type is not entirely new in this part of the Crane catchment. CVP Partner London Wildlife Trust (LWT) with funding support from LB Hillingdon and the Environment Agency previously (2018) reinstated a historic meander of the Yeading Brook West just downstream of Spider Park at Stafford Road Open Space, to improve habitat. The existing straight channel was intentionally blocked off, creating a backwater area to provide refuge for aquatic wildlife during pollution events. Click here for more information.

The project team responsible for the works at Spider Park is now focused on enhancing a further stretch of the Yeading Brook West – at Queen’s Walk Open Space, a little way upstream of Spider Park. The watercourse re-profiling works are due to take place in early 2026, subject to permission from the Environment Agency.