A stretch of a Lake District river has been reconnnected to a floodplain to help flood-hit residents and nature.
Work has been carried out on a kilometre of Goldrill Beck, which will create 11 hectares of floodplain wetland in the Ullswater Valley.
The work, completed by contractor Tom Lindsay, and funded by the Environment Agency through the Cumbria River Restoration Strategy, involved introducing varied natural features into the river and the floodplain, including lowering sections of artificial embankments, blocking ditches and creating ponds.
Reinstating natural features including riffles, pools and dead wood, as well as lowering some sections of embankment will encourage water to spread out across the floodplain, so a diverse wetland habitat can develop, creating ideal environments for a range of animals and plants to thrive.
It will also provide some flood resilience by storing sediment and water on the floodplain, slowing the flow of both downstream, which can provide some flood resilience to local communities.
Rebecca Powell, project manager for the National Trust, said: “It’s great to have another river restoration project in Ullswater completed. Our approach with this one has been to make minimal interventions which deliver the most impact, we’re essentially making some suggestions, then allowing the river to do the rest of the work.
“Climate change is the single biggest threat to the places we care for in the Lake District. Our work to restore and improve rivers is one of the ways we can adapt to the impacts of climate change, through both slowing the flow of rivers, and creating carbon storage in floodplain wetlands, which are a hugely important carbon sink. These projects can make a real difference to the long-term resilience of Ullswater’s rivers, wildlife and communities.”
The Ullswater Catchment Management partnership, which is spearheaded by the National Trust, Ullswater Catchment Management Community Interest Company (UCMCIC), the Environment Agency and Natural England, works to restore and improve rivers and catchment land in the Ullswater catchment in the Lake District. The partnership won the prestigious 2024 UK River Prize’s Catchment Award earlier this year.
Partnership work in Cumbria is due to continue over the coming years, with further work planned to restore natural habitats.
A survey has identified 6,000 opportunities to restore water dependent habitat such as rivers, wetlands, and peat bogs on National Trust land.
The project is part of the National Trust Riverlands Programme, a multi-million-pound programme of work to restore the nations rivers, in partnership the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.
