Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Management Plan. Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Management Plan

Transcription

1 Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Management Plan Draft Version May

2 Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Management Plan Written on behalf of the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership 2

3 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of this document This document provides the baseline to take forward the work of the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership. It describes the Lower Trent & Erewash catchment and the issues that need to be tackled. Wherever available, a data and evidence approach has been used to support the areas and project identified for future development. The summary tables (Section 4.2) show the multiple benefits for each project against the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership goals. Annex 3 contains the specifications for each project including the current status of the project; the lead organisation and next steps required to make it happen. 1.2 The Catchment Based Approach Back in 2012 Defra launched the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA). The Catchment Based Approach encourages organisations to manage land and water in a balanced way, by identifying the pressures on the water environment, by working together to agree common objective and by implementing solutions. A key principle is encouraging organisations to work in partnership and to deliver a range of benefits through a single initiative. 1.3 River Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment The catchment of the Lower Trent and Erewash is a very large sub catchment covering an area of approximately 2045km 2, extending from the River Dove confluence with the River Trent south west of the city of Derby and finishing at Alkborough Flats where the Trent flows into the Humber Estuary. Within this area the River Trent is 174 km long with its main tributaries including the rivers Derwent, Soar, Erewash, Leen, Greet, Devon, Idle, Torne and Eau and the Dover Beck. Nottinghamshire is its principal county, with parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire incorporated. The catchment is a very long one touching a number of counties and to better service its needs the SW corner between its confluences with the Rivers Dove and Derwent is being managed by the Derwent Catchment Partnership. This plan will therefore cover the catchment immediately downstream of its confluence with the Derwent to the Humber Estuary. Nottingham is the principal urban area within its catchment with other major settlements being Ilkeston, Newark, Gainsborough and Scunthorpe. The catchment contains a variety of landscapes, predominantly the Trent and Belvoir Vales but also includes the Humberhead Levels, the Northern Lincolnshire Edge and 3

4 Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Wolds. The bedrock geology of Triassic and Jurassic mudstones has given rise to fertile, clayey soils across much of the area, while extensive deposits of alluvium and sand and gravel have given rise to a wider variety of soils, especially in the flood plains. The dominant land use across the catchment is rural, mostly arable production with a small portion in pasture. Diffuse nutrient pollution (phosphate) from agricultural run-off is considered to be a major contributing factor to the overall WFD status of the catchment. Other key issues causing water quality problems come from overflow from sewage works, surface water run-off from quarry workings and the road network. There are also some communities at risk of flooding within the catchment. Before CaBA there were already many projects ongoing across the Lower Trent that delivered benefits for the water environment. However, few of them looked at the catchment as a whole. The Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership has brought many well established organisations together to discuss their work and future aspirations at the catchment scale. The work reinforces the strength of some of the existing projects and allows the partners to look more widely at opportunities to work with partners to bring about benefits that may not be achievable by working alone. Figure 1 Map of the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment 4

5 2 The Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership The Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership has been developed in response to the Defra Catchment Based Approach policy using funding by Defra and the EA. A range of organisations have been meeting to look at the options across the Lower Trent & Erewash since the start of The Lower Trent & Erewash catchment partnership has a wide and active membership. The Catchment Based Approach has brought a catchment scale focus to the members recognising the wider benefits that can be achieved by a coordinated partnership. The organisations that attend the meetings are listed below. Canal and River Trust Broxtowe Borough Council Environment Agency Groundwork Nottingham Keep Britain Tidy (via WatersideCare) Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust National Farmers Union Natural England Severn Trent Water Trent Rivers Trust (catchment host) Trent Valley IDB 2.1 Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Vision The Lower Trent & Erewash catchment partnership has an agreed vision for the long term on the Lower Trent & Erewash. Vision for the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership "A Lower Trent & Erewash catchment that has a healthy, functioning water environment including rivers, lakes and groundwater. Key pressures in the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment at a glance Diffuse pollution from roads and urban areas Heavily modified river channels Rural point source and diffuse pollution Separation of the river from its floodplain Loss of riparian wetland habitats Raised levels of phosphates Risk of properties and roads flooding Impeded fish passage 5

6 2.2 Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership Objectives Biodiversity and Natural Processes Long term objectives There is a rich and diverse collection of habitats and species within the catchment rivers and their floodplains. Areas of high conservation value are in good condition and are connected by wildlife corridors. Fish can move freely throughout the catchment with ample spawning and nursery areas. Flood Risk Management Rain water is stored and managed to reduce the risk of flooding through the use of urban and rural sustainable drainage solutions wherever possible. Properties and livelihoods are not impacted by flood risk and are resilient to future climate change. Floodplains are managed to store flood water as well as other local benefits. Opportunities for Natural Flood Management (NFM) schemes are explored and implemented where possible. Community Involvement and Recreation There is a high level of public understanding of the importance of rivers and floodplains to provide places for people and wildlife. Communities are involved with a local river project. There is a range of recreation and accessible sites along the river and throughout the catchment. Water quality Water quality from point and diffuse sources is improved. There is a raised awareness of pollution risk from residential, commercial, rural and urban sources. Addressing issues in high priority areas within the catchment Our priority areas benefit from focused attention to help them achieve relevant catchment objectives. Partners supporting each other and working together in our priority areas to maximise achievements. 6

7 2.3 Our Priority Areas The Lower Trent & Erewash catchment is a very large and long catchment with major urban communities separated by long distances e.g. Nottingham near the south of the catchment is over 70 miles from Scunthorpe in the North. Rural communities are similarly spread and so lack a sense of shared ownership and engagement over the catchment as a whole. The use of priority areas or hubs better enables the engagement of partners as well as local communities to work together to improve the water quality. Four Hubs have been identified in the catchment: Trent Valley Erewash and Leen Dover Beck and Greet Bottesford Beck and Eau The Trent Valley Hub also acts to link the three other Hubs. The partnership meeting held on 14 th December 2016 reviewed and agreed these Hubs as having issues that the partnership could work together on to help achieve the catchments objectives. Partners currently have projects and/or potential projects in the Hubs and this provides a core of activity on which to build. Section 3 below provides further evidence as to the issues in the Hubs that the partnership could work together to address. 7

8 Figure 2 Map of the Hubs 3 Data and evidence 3.1 Nationally consistent evidence base CaBA data package for Lower Trent & Erewash catchment: ( The 'CaBA Data&GIS User Guide' explains which layers are available, what they mean and how they can be used. There are over 100 data layers available for this catchment which identify the spatial pattern of opportunities; issues, characteristics and the possible sources of the issues. This weight of evidence is being improved by collecting local datasets and working with local organisations in 8

9 the catchment. This data coupled with 'Local Evidence' and 'Priority Places' below provide the weight of evidence required to deliver projects which will benefit the lives of people and wildlife living in this the catchment. 3.2 Local Evidence In addition to the national datasets available in the CaBA data package and via government open data initiatives, local data and evidence (including modelling) is important for helping to pinpoint issues, identify solutions and monitor outcomes in our catchment. Details of key monitoring and modelling resources and tools which are being used in this catchment can be found in Annex Priority places A number of key CaBA organisations are prioritising where they will undertake actions to meet their particular aims, and these actions can potentially impact on other aspects of the water environment. We have used the following resources to help the partnership focus delivery where it will bring the greatest benefit: Catchment Data Explorer This is central to the CaBA planning process and we have used it to help identify where the issues are and the likely causes. Below is an extract for the Lower Trent and Erewash Catchment but details on all sub-catchments and water bodies can be found at the above link. Number of water bodies in this Management Catchment Water body categories Natural Artificial Heavily modified Total River, canals and surface water transfers Lake Coastal Estuarine Groundwater Total Ecological and chemical classification for surface waters 2015 Cycle 2 9

10 Ecological status or potential Chemical status Number of water bodies Bad Poor Moderate Good High Fail Good Summary of ecological status or potential and chemical status and objectives for surface water bodies (number of water bodies) including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines (blue shaded cells) Ecological status or potential Chemical status Bad Poor Moderate Good High Total Fail Good Total By By By Extended Deadline Beyond Total Less Stringent Less Stringent Reasons for not achieving good status and reasons for deterioration in this Management Catchment The table below shows the number of reasons for not achieving good status (RNAGS) and reasons for deterioration (RFD), split by sector. Sector RFD RNAG Grand Total Agriculture and rural land management Domestic General Public Industry Local and Central Government Mining and quarrying Navigation No sector responsible Other Recreation Sector under investigation Urban and transport Waste treatment and disposal Water Industry Grand Total

11 The tables show that the catchment is failing on Ecological Status and that after water companies, rural land management is a large contributor to the reasons for failure Catchment Flood Management Plan We have used this to check planned actions for reducing flood risk in this catchment in order to identify opportunities to create multi-benefit actions, and to identify opportunities to add flood risk benefits to other planned projects Countryside Stewardship Statements of Priorities We have used this to identify where Natural England has identified water quality or flooding as a priority issue for allocation of countryside stewardship grants. 11

12 3.3.4 EA Local evidence reviews and prioritisation tool: We have used these to understand where the Environment Agency has prioritised waterbodies for future work and EA funding, where actions will provide WFD, flood risk, biodiversity and other benefits Local Authority spatial plans: Greater Nottingham: Newark and Sherwood District Council: North Lincolnshire: We have used these to identify where green infrastructure measures could be targeted, and funded from infrastructure levy, to provide flood risk, water quality, biodiversity and recreational benefits. 12

13 3.3.6 Severn Trent Water RSA plan. We have used this to understand where the priorities are for Severn Trent Water and identify opportunities for partnership working Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Group Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping: We have used this to understand where the priorities are for biodiversity, particularly wetland habitats, and identify opportunities for partnership working to address these issues. There are many organisations looking to prioritise where they spend money and undertake actions to provide the best outcome for their particular objectives. The best way to make use of these different prioritisation tools and plans is to use them in combination to identify areas of the catchment, and possible projects, which will provide benefits to multiple partners, as this will provide a strong business case for future funding bids Minerals Local Plans We have used the Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan to identify the scope for the delivery of wetland habitat at a landscape scale via post minerals development. The RSPB Bigger and Better vision for 2050 builds on this with recognising the value of a linked up network of wetland habitats. We have used the RSPB Futurescapes documents and to help identify areas of priority. 3.4 Justification for the Hubs River Erewash and River Lean Catchments The River Erewash is made up of 10 waterbodies 2 of which are at Poor status, the remainder of which are Moderate Ecological status. The River Leen waterbodies are at Moderate Ecological status. Both of these catchments have established community engagement from Friends of Groups and previous projects. Within the River Leen flooding is an issue on the Day Brook. The Catchment Flood Management Plan (see above) categorises the Erewash as needing actions to reduce flood risk. The Broxtowe Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping (BOM) shows that within the Erewash Valley there are significant opportunities for wetland habitats being creation, enhancement, enlargement and reconnection: In the Ashfield BOM the value of the Leen Catchment as a focal area having the potential for improving the existing wetland network along the River Leen and its tributaries is highlighted. The Sherwood BOM also recognises the value of enhancing existing the wetland habitat network along the Leen: 13

14 From project forms already submitted by the partners there is ongoing work and potential for more within these catchments making it suitable as a Hub Dover Beck and River Greet The Dover Beck is at Moderate status but the River Greet is at Poor status. Both catchments have flooding issues that need addressing. Work has been undertaken over the last 2 years in engaging landowners in addressing some of the issues from agriculture. Agriculture is the 2 nd highest cause of Reasons for the Failing to meet WFD status of good, in the catchment. The Hub could provide opportunity to continue and extend the work already carried out to a wider rural area. The Dover Beck has been identified as a priority for Seven Trent Water and forms part of their local RSA. All of the above points make this a suitable Hub to build on work already undertaken in the catchment and address WFD and partner issues Bottesford Beck Bottesford Beck is at Moderate status. It has a very active Friends of Bottesford Beck group that have been successful in raising funds and carrying out works both on the Beck and adjoining community sites. This Hub would provide the opportunity to support this group and work with neighbouring groups such as that at Scotter Trent Valley The Trent Valley links the other Hubs and provides opportunity to develop catchment scale funding for projects on the Trent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Trent Valley BOM maps indicate that wetland habitats are considered to be the habitats which should be subject to most activity, with considerable opportunities identified for the re-creation of extensive areas of reedbed and wet grassland within the Trent Valley. The Rushcliffe BOM maps also indicate that there are considered to be a number of opportunities for wetland habitats both enhancing existing sites and connecting them in the floodplain of the Trent Valley river catchments and its tributaries. The Nottinghamshire Minerals Plan and RSPB Bigger and Better visions supports the landscape level development of post mineral wetland habitats in the Trent Valley see section above. 14

15 4 Projects for delivery A series of Delivery Projects' have been developed by the Lower Trent & Erewash CP group since it started meeting. This working document identifies these projects and provides a draft specification for the work. As the partnership has discussed the projects, those with the most backing have been developed further, while others with less backing have been dropped. 4.1 General principles used to identify and prioritise Delivery Projects for the Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment The general principles used to identify these projects are listed below: At the events held at Gainsborough and Flintham in February 2014 a long list of projects were identified by the partners This list has been discussed, revised and refined during a number of meetings and partner discussion. Other projects have been added to the list as new stakeholders have become involved in the partnership. This approach ensures that the limited resources of the CaBA partnership are used to develop projects which attract the most support from the group. The approach is all about direction of travel, rather than achieving a threshold water quality or ecological status. This is makes the use of evidence much simpler and easier to understand. The rivers in the catchment are highly modified with significant industrial and urban pollution. Catchment scale water quality and overall habitat are likely to be very difficult to bring back in a way that will give high quality ecology due to multiple upstream sources of pollution and pressure. The projects are on rivers, groundwater and reservoirs where there will be multiple benefits. The CaBA Data and GIS package has been used with summary and water body documents to focus in on the main opportunities which will bring multiple benefits. Preference is given to opportunities in areas where there is already some activity which can be built on; it is easier to make progress when activity has already started on the ground. +++ indicates the main rationale behind a project, it does not mean that the project will deliver big improvements. ++ indicates secondary benefits from the project. + indicates minor benefits from the project. The summary table below could be used to change or refine the suggested projects, in consultation with the steering group, to better deliver the catchment strategy. All 'Delivery Projects' should deliver benefits for WFD as well as CaBA if they are to be supported by the Environment Agency. 15

16 Each project should incorporate Environment Agency measures from the list of cost beneficial measures where possible. Each project should have a 'lead partner to drive it forward. Priority 1 projects have agreement. Priority 2 projects have an 'owner' who will proceed when there is an opportunity. Priority 3 projects need an owner to progress and Priority 4 projects are blue sky. Projects progress when the opportunity arises. Once a project is 'agreed' by the delivery group as a priority 2 (it has an owner), it is the responsibility of the owner to move the project forward. 4.2 Projects Summary Table The summary tables below show the multiple benefits for each project against Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership Objectives. Section 4.3 contains the specifications for each project including the current status of the project; the lead organisation and next steps required to make it happen. Appendix 2 contains the discussions and decisions from the delivery group. These are used to update the priority of each project and remove projects with little support and add in new projects as the opportunity arises. 16

17 Priority Cost K (if known) Address issues in one or more Hub Water quality Community involvement & recreation Flood Risk Management Biodiversity and natural processes Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Management Plan Project Reference Project Name Lead Partner Status LTCP/001 Dover Beck TRT Completed ,500 1 LTCP/002 Leen, Lincoln Street GWN Completed LTCP/003 Ouse Dyke, Willlow Park GWN Completed ,500 1 LTCP/0015 Leen, Valley Road, Daybrook GWN Completed ,000 1 LTCP/004 The Dover Beck and Causeway Dyke TRT Completed ,500 1 Agricultural project LTCP/005 Phosphate removal STW Partner ,000 1 project in progress LTCP/006 Woodborough Wetland Scheme EA Partner ,000 1 project in progress LTCP/007 STW investigations STW Partner project in progress LTCP/008 Erewash at Bentinck NCC Potential NCC researching landowners hip LTCP/009 Farleys Brook at Hucknall NCC Removed LTCP/010 Leen at Papplewick NCC Removed LTCP/0011 Erewash at Giltbrook GWN Removed LTCP/0012 Leen, Valley Road, Daybrook GWN Potential GWGN pursuing funding

18 LTCP/0013 Trent, Leen & Erewash Wetlands for All (includes 15 sites) NWT Partner project in progress LTCP/0014 The Beck, Fledborough Beck, Sewer Drain TRT First year funded, in progress LTCP/0015 Southwell Frames Project TRT Match funding being sought LTCP/0016 Far Ings Eel Habitat TRT Funding being sought , , ,

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20 4.3 Flagship projects Trent Freeway - restoring sustainable movement of people and wildlife in the Lower Trent Working as a partnership, the Environment Agency (EA), Canal & River Trust (CRT) and Trent Rivers Trust (TRT) are seeking to restore the Lower Trent as a green corridor for both people and wildlife. Through the project, people will be linked to the social history of the area and the part that the river played in shaping the towns and villages along its route. Fish passage will be enabled at nine weirs that would link the Humber Estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC) at the top end to salmon spawning grounds on the Derwent and Dove Rivers and allow all species to move up and down river through improved habitats. The River Trent is the third longest river in England, the second largest in terms of flow. Over the centuries the River Trent has played a hugely important role in how the landscape and its people have developed, particularly through the movement of goods, people and wildlife. Over time the river has been engineered to derive benefits to humans in terms of navigation of boats and maintaining water levels for agricultural purposes. The weir structures installed to derive these benefits have been to the detriment of the natural functioning of the river, particularly in terms of free movement of fish. As such, nationally and internationally important species such as salmon, eels and river lamprey are currently unable to properly complete their migratory life cycle and their populations have declined as a result. Historically, salmon were so abundant in the Trent that a law was passed in the 18th century to limit the number of time a week to servants who complained of monotony! The project would cover the following areas of Heritage: Land and natural heritage: restoring sustainable fish populations and habitat improvements industrial maritime/transport: interpretation and engagement with the purpose of the nine weirs, their construction and continued maintenance Community heritage: role of River Trent as a freeway through history and the links to settlements along its route We would expect to submit a Stage 1 application in mid to late We anticipate this would be for a project running between This would be a 2 year development phase, followed by 5 year delivery phase. 5 Monitoring and Evaluation We need to monitor and evaluate the work that is done in the Catchment and this can be achieved using the following example monitoring plan template (based on PRAGMO) As each project is developed relevant monitoring needs can be included in this monitoring plan and results recorded. Additional evaluation can be brought in at a catchment or Hub level. 20

21 6 Work in progress. This plan is work in progress and will grow and adapt as we deliver projects to improve the catchment and as new threats emerge. The greater the collaboration between CaBA partners the more sustainable this plan will become and the greater the benefits to the catchment and the people and wildlife that live there. Component of CaBA Plan Initial Growing Sustainable 1) Vision and Objectives 2) Data & Evidence 3) Project plan 4) Monitoring plan Annexe 6.1 Local Evidence tools and resources MyScimap: A free online version of the sediment risk mapping tool. Farmscoper: Decision support tool for agricultural pollution management planning Freshwater Watch water quality survey toolkit, training and data management: From Feb/March 2017, FreshwaterWatch CaBA groups will have the ability to brand their own landing page and display maps with just their own group results Project Specifications NB The next stage is to enter the details of all of the project online at 8dfcd09f236284e 21