Ravensbourne Catchment Partnership

The River Ravensbourne Catchment & Ravensbourne Catchment Improvement Group (RCIG)

Located in south east London, the River Ravensbourne has 41 miles (66km) of rivers and streams, serving a total catchment area of 111 square miles (180km²). Rising from spring sources at Keston, Locksbottom and Croydon, the river Ravensbourne and its tributaries the Rivers Pool, Quaggy and Kid Brook flow through the London Boroughs of Bromley, Lewisham, Croydon and Greenwich, eventually joining the River Thames at Deptford. As a tributary of the River Thames, the River Ravensbourne forms part of the Thames River Basin District.

The Ravensbourne Catchment Improvement Group

Our partnership work is led by the Ravensbourne Catchment Improvement Group (or RCIG), which formed in 2012 in order to represent a wide range of local stakeholders with a shared interest in improving the whole River Ravensbourne system to benefit local people and water-dependent wildlife.

The RCIG meets regularly throughout the year to share information and build knowledge about sustainable water and river management and identify opportunities to improve local river sites across the whole Ravensbourne catchment.

Our overall vision for the catchment is to improve the rivers and to provide wider benefits for people and nature at a catchment scale.

Click here to see the Ravensbourne Catchment Plan

What we do

To progress our action plan we focus on championing, fundraising and developing projects across the whole Ravensbourne catchment that will help to improve:

Habitats and wildlife resilience, by improving water quality and reducing non-native invasive species;
Greater access to the network of rivers, streams and wetlands within the interconnected Ravensbourne-Pool-Quaggy catchment;
Public perception and awareness of environmental pressures and opportunities for improvements;
Flood storage and resilience, to reduce the risks of flooding to homes and businesses;
Collection of data and evidence, including citizen science, to record changes over time;
Opportunities for positive changes through planning and development.

Current Projects

The River Ravensbourne has a long history of river restoration projects, river improvement projects, partnership working and citizen science. Ongoing projects include:

3 Rivers Clean Up – an annual three week programme with partners delivering numerous volunteer events around the catchment to manage invasive species.
Quaggy Links – a collaborative vision, led by the Quaggy Waterways Action Group, for improvements in river habitats and biodiversity, and access to the River Quaggy between Chinbrook Meadows and Sutcliffe Park. Currently, the Quaggy Links Project adjacent to Capel Manor College and Mottingham Lane is underway.
Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (RMI) – a community-run, citizen science initiative monitoring pollution-sensitive freshwater invertebrates. This provides valuable long-term data on water quality around the catchment. Contact the Ravensbourne RMI Coordinators if you would like to get involved.
Chinbrook Meadows SuDS Project – Thames21 have been working with Lewisham Council and the Friends of Chinbrook Meadows to create a constructed wetland to improve the water quality of the River Quaggy, enhance biodiversity, reduce flood risk and provide the community with a space to connect with nature.
Beckenham Place Park – a large-scale project looking to regenerate the east part of the park, which will include river improvements and volunteering opportunities.
Rivers & People – a a river volunteering project facilitated by Glendale Grounds Management offering volunteers opportunities to improve their fitness and Lewisham’s rivers by taking part in practical nature conservation activities.