The Mill Brook Community Consultation and Catchment Approach
The Mill Brook is a river that rises on Greensand stone and runs over the chalk from Blewbury to Wallingford, passing through South Moreton.
Initial Consultation
Mend the Gap supported a consultation event in Blewbury in May 2025 to bring together those in the locality who feel strongly about the Mill Brook and its catchment, to share information and to help shape discussions over what we might want to see in the future. .
Initial Consultation at Blewbury
The event was facilitated by Thames 21, with input from Action for River Kennet (ARK) and the Environment Agency, along with community discussion. The workshop discussions have been collated into a report by Thames21, which is now available to download below.
A Catchment Approach
Mend the Gap is funding Action for River Kennet to work to build a catchment partnership for the Wallingford Brooks. The partnership will bring partners together to identify and address the challenges and opportunities facing the Wallingford Brooks, beginning with the Mill Brook and Cholsey Brook sub-catchments.
How will we build a Catchment Partnership
The Mill Brook has been designated a partial chalk stream, making it especially important in the context of rare and fragile habitats. The Cholsey Brook has been identified by ecologists as supporting chalk stream plant communities.
Using the initial consultation report below, we will use the Catchment Based Approach to create a sub-catchment plan, establish a strong framework for collaborative working to deliver integrated catchment management, and build a catchment partnership that can grow and become sustainable.
Integrated catchment management can provide multiple benefits for all the partner organisations and the local community, including reducing flood risk and pollution, water resource protection, improved biodiversity and better health and recreation opportunities for local people. Planning integrated, collaborative actions is more cost-beneficial than projects tackling single issues, particularly when it allows multiple funding streams to be harnessed.
Mill Brook Consultation Report