15 October 2025 update

Thank you to everyone who has already shared their views with the District Council and the Parish Council. Whatever your thoughts about the proposed scheme and it’s relative merits, please take a few minutes to respond to the District Council’s consultation.

You can:

  1. submit your comments (by 21 October) via the District Council’s Planning Portal – Link to District Council comments page,
  2. complete a Parish Council online questionnaire – Parish Council online questionnaire
  3. complete a Parish Council paper questionnaire – Parish Council paper questionnaire (Please return your completed questionnaire via the Village Shop, directly to a Parish Councillor, or simply take a picture of the completed pages and email them to clerk@sherborneparish.org.
  4. or write to Joanne Reeves, Case Officer, Planning Department, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX (remember to quote reference 25/02583/FUL)

All the published documents, and responses received by the District Council so far, can be viewed here – 25/02583/FUL | Wetland enhancement works upstream of Sherborne Broadwater to reconnect river with floodplain, manage silt, preserve open water, improve biodiversity, and mitigate flood risk | Sherborne Brook Sherborne Gloucestershire

 

5 October 2025 update

The National Trust (NT) has submitted a planning application for a scheme to create a new wetland habitat approximately 100 meters to the east of Waterloo Bridge. The stated objectives of the scheme are to help remove sediment/silt within Sherborne Brook to prevent it from accumulating within the Broadwaters* and to provide a new and extended wetland habitat within the ‘Old Park’ to the south-west of the Broadwater, with the aim of enhancing local biodiversity.

(* The NT has stated on a number of occasions, that creating a sustainable way of reducing sediment/silt entering the Broadwaters would act as a key enabler for the recreation of meaningful areas of open water. As yet, there is no confirmed NT definition of what is meant by ‘meaningful areas of open water’. Anything from something that respects the historical design of the Broadwaters to a small area to the west of the weir. We will see.)

Details of the scheme were first shared with the community at two NT information sessions held at the village Social Club on the 7th & 11th of June. The NT’s planning application was then received by Cotswold District Council (CDC) nine weeks later on 14 August. Once validated by CDC, the application was made public on 23 September and can now be viewed online at National Trust Planning Application documents or at CDC’s offices in Cirencester.

A consultation period is now active, during which any members of the public can comment on the application and can make representations regarding the scheme. Any comments must be received by CDC by 21st October. In view of the complexity of the application (some 250 pages across more that 20 documents), the Parish Council (PC) has written to CDC asking for a two-week extension to the consultation period (4th November).

You can post your comments online at National Trust planning application comments

It’s a simple and easy way to make sure your voice is heard in time. In addition to responding directly to CDC via their website, the PC has prepared a simple questionnaire and delivered a copy to everyone within the Parish. Responses to this will be summarised and presented to CDC as part of the PC’s response to the application. An online version of the questionnaire is available at Parish Council online community questionnaire and a copy is also attached below.

The Parish Council is aware that the NT’s proposals shared at their community information sessions have caused some concerns for many within the Parish. Four of the main considerations raised are:

  1. Increased water levels within the Brook and additional flood risk to nearby properties due to the introduction of baffles and dams within the Brook.
  2. Efficacy of the proposed scheme in removing silt from the Brook and whether it will have any significant effect in reducing the continued build-up of silt and weed growth within the Broadwater.
  3. Potential further degradation of the Old Park, which is a Grade II Registered Park and Garden of significant historical value.
  4. Landscape and visual impact of the scheme upon local residents and the impact upon the inherent character of the parkland and wider village landscape.

The latter two items are fairly subjective, but the Parish Council is prepared to make representations which reflect the consensus view within community, as well as how the proposals relate to current Planning Policy within Cotswold District Council’s Local Plan.

Independent Hydrological Assessment

In respect of the first two considerations, the PC does not have the expertise to judge the efficacy of the scheme nor the potential for additional flood risk. Hence, in order for the PC to make an informed consultation response, we are proposing to commission a hydrological assessment from an independent hydrological consultancy. The consultancy will prepare a report which will provide a hydrological critique of the NT’s planning application.

The assessment will be made available to the community to allow individuals to draw their own conclusions and to comment upon the planning application.

The cost of the independent assessment will be £1,500. The PC is able fund part of the cost of this work but would also welcome any financial contributions from the Community.

If you would like to support this initiative, donations can be made directly through the PC by contacting the PC’s Clerk (clerk@sherborneparish.org). Further details can also be obtained from members of the PC.

Please take a few moments make your voice heard via the questionnaire (posted or online versions) and via the CDC’s website. Or if your prefer to write directly to the CDC’s planning case officer, here are the details:

Joanne Reeves, Case Officer, Planning Department, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX

The case reference is 25/02583/FUL

Thank you

 

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10 August 2025 update

The Parish Council (PC) has received a response regarding the 9 July meeting notes sent to the National Trust (NT). They are attached below for reference—see ‘National Trust Sherborne Brook Restoration update 28 July 2025’. More recently, on 5th August, the NT replied to the community’s questions submitted on 16th July; this correspondence is also included below as ‘NT Sherborne Brook Restoration Community Q & A – 10 August 2025’.

The PC intends to formally invite the NT to a further briefing meeting, to discuss developments since the initial NT’s information events held in June. According to the NT’s latest update, a planning application was scheduled for submission during the week commencing 28 July. In light of the NT’s stated commitment to work with the community, it would be regrettable if this application did proceed without taking into account the community’s representations or offers of support to enhance the proposals previously presented in June.

We are looking forward to learning more and sharing further details.

In the meantime, if you have any further questions you would like the PC to progress on your behalf, do get in touch via clerk@sherborneparish.org.

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27 July 2025 update

During June the National Trust (NT) hosted two community briefing sessions designed to inform attendees of the NT’s plans to create a new wetland habitat approximately 100 meters east of Waterloo Bridge. The plans provided by the NT are attached for reference, so is the NT’s most recent newsletter (NT Newsletters) which sets out more details and a wider rational for the project.

Publication of details follows an extensive period of NT led stakeholder consultation including the NT’s own advisors, Historic England, the Environment Agency, and the Gardens Trust. Others too. The scheme has been designed by technical consultants JBA. The briefing sessions were the community’s first opportunity to review the plans and provide feedback.

The wetland creation project is positioned by the NT as a way of mitigating the quantity of silt entering the Upper Broadwater Lake. Two related aspects of a programme of a wider ‘Sherborne Brook Restoration’ initiative include:

  1. Silt run-off from the main road heading downhill from the A40 towards Waterloo Bridge, and then uphill from the Bridge to Clapton-on-the-Hill (approximately one mile on each side of the Bridge).
  2. Removal of silt from the historic Upper Broadwater Lake to recreate open water (now completely overgrown following more than a decade of neglect).

However, neither of these are included in the wetland creation planning application due to be submitted to Cotswold District Council.

Following community and riparian landowner feedback, a workshop was held (9 July) including the Parish Council, JBA consultants, relevant riparian owners, and representatives of the Sherborne Brook Support Group. The meeting included a site visit to the residential property most likely to be affected by any increase in water level (a key dependency of the scheme) resulting from the NT’s proposed scheme.

The notes of the meeting and community Q&A were copied to the NT on 15 July and are included below.

The Council hopes the NT will take account of the community’s concerns and positive suggestions as to how the proposed scheme could be improved. The NT’s response to the notes and Q&A will be posted here as soon as they are received.

 

 

 

Attachments