15.08.24 WORK has started on a scheme to improve habitats, store flood water and break down pollution on a 1.8km stretch of the Trent near Weston in Staffordshire.
The £161,000 project, delivered through local rivers charity, Trent Rivers Trust, will increase the connectivity between the river and its floodplain, allowing water to spill more frequently onto enlarged and improved wetland areas. The additional storage will also keep flood water on site for longer.
Measures include reprofiled river banks, lowered embankments, wetlands, and widened sections of the river channel. The new and dynamic habitat mosaic will also create breeding spots for wading birds and wildflower grasslands. The scheme will also restore a historic water meadow. Water meadows were a common feature of a floodplain landscape utilised by farmers to encourage water onto the land. Many of them have been lost, neglected, or ploughed over.
The initiative is expected to be completed by mid-September, as works were timed to avoid disturbing nesting sand martins on the banks of the river.
Ruth Needham, Head of Landscapes and Partnerships says:
This is a great project to increase the connectivity of the River Trent to its floodplain. Along the Trent, we’ve lost so much of our wetlands, and many of our floodplains have been drained and improved for agriculture. By working on this section of the river, we’re restoring vital river and wetland habitats for wildlife. In addition, the grassland will include a wider range of species creating productive and diverse grazing pasture for livestock.
We need to make more space for our rivers and we’re grateful to the landowner who has created space on their land to help make this happen.
Ella Moore, Conservation Officer, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust says:
The work at Weston plays an important role in the Trent and Sow project. The site is part of a corridor along the rivers Trent and Sow from Weston to Baswich. This project will restore wetland, grassland and river habitats, improving these important spaces for wildlife. The work will also reconnect the river to its floodplain, creating additional storage for flood water. Projects like this are vital in ensuring we can continue to strive towards our 30 by 30 goals.
Mark Knight, Senior Cultural Heritage Officer, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust says:
By working together with partners in these fragile historic landscapes, we are conserving and protecting them, delivering sustainable nature recovery at the same time as planning strategies to protect historic environments for the future. These Natural and Cultural Heritage strategies can and must work sympathetically; we are leading the way in demonstrating and delivering practical, workable solutions for both.
Vicki Liu, Catchment Co-ordinator at the Environment Agency says:
We are pleased to be working in partnership with Trent Rivers Trust to restore a section of the River Trent at Weston. This section has a ‘poor’ ecological status under the Water Framework Directive and has been modified historically, resulting in poor habitat quality and a lack of natural processes.
This project will help the river and the wildlife that uses it by improving the connection between the river and its floodplain. Water will be able to utilise the floodplain more readily, and help to create diverse wetland and grassland habitats, which will result in more naturally functioning ecosystems. It will also lead to an increase in habitat diversity and wildlife abundance, with improvements to the local water quality.
This year’s work is being funded by the Trent and Sow Washlands Project, which is managed by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. The Environment Agency has also provided further funding and support.
The work near Weston is a continuation of river restoration works Trent Rivers Trust conducted in 2021. Similarly, the project reconnected sections of the Trent to the floodplain and re-shaped the riverbanks adding diversity and new habitats within the river.
