Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has today issued an update on the £1.1million Saving Shireoaks & Worksop through Natural Flood Management (NFM) project. This project is funded by the Environment Agency as part of the £25 million Natural Flood Management Programme.
Harnessing nature to reduce threat of flooding for homes
Work to harness nature to reduce threat of flooding for homes and businesses in Shireoaks and Worksop well under way.
Leaky dam credit Ian Higginson
In addition to reducing flood risk, NFM schemes can provide habitat for wildlife, improve air and water quality and enhance community greenspaces.
The project to benefit Shireoaks and Worksop is being delivered by Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts, Nottinghamshire County Council and University of East London University. It aims to harness natural process to help reduce the impact of flooding on homes and business in the River Ryton catchment area by slowing river flows and boosting flood storage capacity by reconnecting the watercourses to their floodplains and creating new ponds.
By working at catchment level on six connected watercourses, and across county and district borders, the partners have been able to identify a range of opportunities to create natural features including new woodland planting, ponds and ‘leaky dams’ – which hold back and gradually release water after periods of high rainfall. In addition to the River Ryton, the project is focussed on Anston Brook, Bondhay Dyke, Darfoulds Dyke, Pudding Dyke and Bull Brook.
After 9 months of research, surveys and engagement with landowners and local communities, work to deliver targeted interventions designed to reduce flood risk whilst also delivering benefits for nature is now well under way. Projects have been completed along Pudding Dyke, Anston Brook and Dafoulds Dyke – all tributaries of the River Ryton. 115 leaky dams have been created so far, along with a new pond and new areas of woodland incorporating 2428 trees. Work is also well under way at Shireoaks Colliery where 58 leaky dams have been installed with further works planned including a new pond, shallow scrapes to benefit amphibians and invertebrates, improvements to 700 metres of ditch, a new hedge, tree planting and features to help reduce issues caused by fast flowing surface water including path improvements and bunds.
These schemes delivered so far highlight the importance of partnership working and community engagement.Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Speaking about this first phase of delivery Project Manager Ian Higginson said: “These schemes delivered so far highlight the importance of partnership working and community engagement. It simply wouldn’t have been possible to deliver them without the support of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council & Anston Parish Council – and we were delighted that over 80 volunteers supported the tree planting adjacent to Anston Brook. Similarly, the support of Nottinghamshire County Council and the Friends of Woodlands and Coachwood Green have been invaluable at Shireoaks Colliery - as has the support of Explore Manufacturing at Darfoulds Brook - highlighting that private landowners can also support vital NFM project that benefit the wider community.”
Project pipeline
The experienced project team has also developed proposals for work along the Bondhay Dyke, the River Ryton and a scheme along the Bull Brook - working with partners including Nottinghamshire County Council and Bassetlaw District Council. The team, supported by project partners recently held two successful drop in community consultation sessions at Farr Park which were valuable community listening meetings which The Trust will be taking on board within their planning for the scheme at Farr Park.
Ian continued: “Having already delivered a range of positive measures, we are now at an exciting point in the project where we have more schemes almost ready go and we also starting to build up data from the range of rainwater, turbidity and flow monitors installed to track the positive impact of the work and help shape future NFM schemes.”
Projects like this showcase the power of nature to protect our communities.Nottinghamshire Count Council
Speaking about the project Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Projects like this showcase the power of nature to protect our communities. We’re proud to support these innovative solutions, which not only help reduce flood risk but also enhance local green spaces for everyone. It’s a win-win for people and wildlife, and a shining example of partnership in action. We look forward to seeing further long-term improvements to the wider River Ryton catchment area in the near future.
The project team have also developed a range of further proposals including work on farmland, having spent time to build trust with local landowners.
Speaking on behalf of Bassetlaw District Council Cllr Darrell Pulk, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods at Bassetlaw District Council said: “We welcome the progress being made on this natural flood management scheme by the Wildlife Trust which, with the support of landowners, will slow the movement of water as well as providing benefits to wildlife.
“We look forward, as landowners and partners to the project, to continue working with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and all the other agencies in developing this scheme to benefit Farr Park and the Water meadows area as well as the communities in the Ryton catchment area.”
Further details about the project can be found on the project webpage.