Projects - D P World

The Derek Gow Consultancy was sub- contracted by AECOM to undertake the water vole mitigation and translocation works for the "Rest of Park" site at the London Gateway. The London Gateway is one of the largest development projects within the UK at this time. It is led by DP World's construction of an international port on the former Shell Haven site on the Thames Estuary. Preparatory ecological works required the clearance of all protected animal and plant species from the sites 200 acre footprint by November 2010. As the site had been left undisturbed for over ten years it had reverted to complex range of wildlife habitats. All the permanent water bodies - drains, ponds and railway drainage ditches - as well as some ephemeral wetland contained water voles. The DGC achieved a water vole clear status across the 'Rest of Park' site at the London Gateway following a 40 day trapping effort in spring 2010. 125 water voles were captured on site by the end of May 1st 2010. 10 pairs of these were taken to the DGC breeding facility to create a captive bred population to support the release in the summer of 2010 and the spring of 2011. A total of 108 juveniles were captive bred for the release project. Each individual water vole both wild caught and captive bred was vet screened prior to release. 122 water voles were released on to the River Colne in June 2010. From May 2nd 2010 water vole trapping continued around the site

boundary to negate recolonisation from external water vole populations. This process caught a further 154 water voles providing a total of 276 between March to October 2010. A second water vole release which was planned in August 2010 was postponed until spring 2011 due to the appearance of mink at the release site. The water voles trapped in the later end of the year and those which were not released in August remained at the DGC facility for the winter period. These water voles along with the captive bred population which totalled 229 were all released in the spring of 2011 onto the River Colne, in association with Essex Wildlife Trust. Extensive monitoring of the re-established population on the river Colne suggests that it is now well established and expanding. Links - click on the logos below