WORK to transform the outlook of one of the best-known stretches of the River Brun through Burnley town centre should be completed by October.
Contractors employed by the Ribble Rivers Trust have been concentrating on the waterway between the town’s job centre and behind the former Lava and Ignite night club, running up to the side of Burnley Town Hall.
Part of the ambitious Burnley Urban River Enhancement Scheme (URES), where nearly £1 million is being spent on improvement initiatives involving the Brun and Calder, is being undertaken by Preston-based engineers William Pye.
Catherine Birtwistle, the trust’s publicity manager, said: “The water flows too quickly along many sections of the Brun through the town centre.
“What we are looking to do is to slow the flow down a little, and create some refuges where fish can rest, before carrying on their journey.”
Engineers have established two parallel channels – the original route and an adjacent run-off, while they continue to work on both halves of the scheme.
And while the workmen have cleared away vegetation, around the Brun’s curve, trust experts are hopeful it will be re-establish .
Yesterday a 50-foot crane was drafted in to assist with the project. The trust is also nearing completion on another fish pass, in Thompson Park, and viewing windows have been installed in revamped railings on Church Street, to provide better views of the river flowing below.
Just one more section will be reprofiled on the Brun, further along from the current stretch, as part of the URES initiative, which has also seen major work on the confluence of the Brun and Calder, off Active Way, and several other fish passes fitted.
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