We’ve just completed work on one of the UK’s largest river restoration projects, in Northumberland’s Breamish Valley. The River Breamish had been historically modified and straightened centuries ago for agricultural purposes, with around a mile of river channel lost. Tweed Forum has been part of a team helping to restore the river’s natural processes as part of the LIFE WADER nature recovery programme.
In partnership with the Environment Agency, Natural England and local landowner, Harehope Estate, we’ve reinstated the original meandering course of the river and created silt traps, shallow ponds, wetlands, embankment breaches and woody dams, delivering a more natural mosaic of habitats to help nature recovery, improve water quality and make the landscape more resilient to climate change.
The river will develop its own ‘final design’ and following recent rainfall it’s already spilled onto its floodplains, forming wetlands, with the river adapting and changing constantly. Habitat in and around the new river channel is already developing and being used by wildlife including heron, kingfishers and damselflies. Vegetation is starting to establish with water crowfoot sighted in the newly re-meandered section.
The Breamish is part of the River Till catchment and you can read more about our strategic restoration efforts in this catchment on our River Till Restoration Strategy page.