Major project to restore Norfolk river

Bintree Mill on the River Wensum

IAN CLARKE

10 March 2010

A major project is under way to restore a 45-mile stretch of a Norfolk river which is described as one of the county's “hidden gems.”

The River Wensum is a chalk river with a range of important wildlife and landscape features and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.

The Environment Agency is working in partnership with Natural England, landowners, fishing clubs and others to restore a section of the river, which has had water quality problems caused by issues such a high levels of phosphates, over abstraction, siltation and modification to the channel.

A range of projects are being carried out as part of the River Wensum Restoration Strategy to change the river, which has been made too deep, too wide and has been straightened.

Richard Leishman, of Natural England, said: “It is really exciting to be able to take a fresh look at how society values the river and to find new ways of managing the river while improving wildlife habitat. We're really excited by the number of restoration schemes that have already been achieved and hope it will fuel the development of future projects to improve one of Norfolk's hidden gems.”

The Environment Agency and Natural England have held six public events to get the views of local people and groups and the feedback will be used to plan the projects.

Work on the river began last year when two gravel glides were created at Attlebridge to provide spawning habitat for fish.

A large silt island was also removed at North Elmham Mill to ensure a good water flow in flood conditions and silt has been removed from other parts of the river.

A major project at Bintree was completed in December to improve 700 metres of the river. It was done with co-operation of the landowners and the trout fishery and included reconnecting the river with its floodplain, narrowing the channel, reinstating the gravel river bed and putting some of the meanders back along the channel.

Project manager John Abraham, of the Environment Agency, said: “The strategy has now moved into the implementation phase, which is a very exciting time. Following from our successful scheme at Bintree, we are looking to bring further schemes to detailed design, where the opportunities present themselves. There is still a lot of work to do behind the scenes, but it is great to see work now being carried out to improve both the form and function of the River Wensum, which in turn will create a better environment for the wildlife that relies on the river.”