Nene Valley Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

The Nene Valley Catchment Partnership (NVCP) will realise this vision that the Nene Catchment will support abundant and resilient natural assets and is a desirable place to live, work and relax. The catchment will be characterised by thriving communities and sustainable complementary growth and development. This will be achieved through efficient and practical project implementation. The focus will be based on sound evidence and influencing local planning policies. We will complete projects through local planning policies, open and ongoing communication and genuine collaboration.

Related websites

Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.

Catchment challenges

Current challenges identified by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Diffuse pollution and sedimentation

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Summer flows in the Nene are becoming lower and winter flood pulses more frequent

  • Physical modifications

    Physical modifications impacting on habitat quality, floodplain connectivity and fish migration

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Our soils and nutrient balance have a large affect on the catchment and the management of them is critical to a healthy catchment

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Increasingly dramatic weather periods are causing problematic events in the catchment, more flash flooding and very low flow events

  • Connecting communities with nature

    A high level of development within the catchment has and will see numbers of new people living in the area without a connection to the landscape

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    The Nene is a rural catchment, with relatively impermeable compacted clay soils with increased risk of run-off, exacerbated by climate change

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    The clay catchment and straightened channels exacerbate the effect of changing rainfall patterns due to climate change, with low flows getting lower and high flows getting higher

  • Physical modifications

    The Nene and tributaries are modified to promote navigation and land drainage which impact aquatic ecology, re-naturalising watercourse will remain an on-going challenge

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Emerging challenges

  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Our successes include:

  • creating an interactive story map, accessible to public telling the catchment partnership story, issues and successfully completed projects
  • Nenescape: A multi-million pound landscape partnership scheme exploring, interpreting and protecting the Nene Valley’s heritage
  • Agricultural Discussion Group: agricultural support industry professionals and farmers meeting four times a year collaborating, developing workshops and events for farmers meeting their needs
  • Harpers Brook: Adopted the Partnership Approach Catchment Management pilot group as a sub-group of NVCP working with communities affected by catchment flooding. Supporting and identifying NFM opportunities for flood and environmental benefits and responsible land management, with scope to implement in future
  • River Ise Partnership: A sub group of the NVCP set up in October 2019, focussing on access and improvements in the Ise Catchment
  • Nene Backchannels: completed full survey of 35+ backchannels and backwaters, clear opportunities for restoring identified and 8 restoration projects finished at present with 2 more to deliver before March 2023.

Partnership development plans

Capitalising on this partnerships established relationship and presence, becoming a conduit for project delivery for a wide variety of funders, expanding including for Lead Local Flood Authorities, Highways Agency, Network Rail and private businesses. Continuing to support local economy by creating and sustaining jobs in green recovery and growth. Developing the Nene story map in to a hub for information, accessible for a range of uses from educating to project opportunities.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Enhancement/no deterioration measures in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Nene Lower Nene Middle Nene Upper

  • Confident

    Improving the River Ise catchment for biodiversity and access

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Slade Brook Ise - Upper Ise - Lower

  • Confident

    Using woodland creation and expansion in the Rockingham Forest area for improving water flow and creating habitat

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Harpers Brook

  • Confident

    Using natural flood management techniques to slow the flow and lessen the effects of flooding

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Location
    Harpers Brook

  • Less certain

    Working with farmers to improve land management practices

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Barriers to delivery
    Increased diversity in funding available and deliverable measures
    Location
    Nene

  • Less certain

    Enhancing and protecting natural habitat in and around watercourses

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Longer funding cycles
    Location
    Nene

  • Less certain

    Greening/flood reduction measures to tackle climate change

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Longer confirmed funding cycles
    Location
    Nene

  • Wider water environment

    Local Enterprise Networks (LENs) programme to implement measures on farmland to increase biodiversity and improve soil quality

    Reason for measure
    Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
    Delivery mechanism
    Private Investment
    Location
    Nene

  • Wider water environment

    Resilience and Innovation Northamptonshire (RAIN): implementing natural flood management, in collaboration, in Harpers and Wootton Brook catchments

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Other Public funding
    Location
    Harpers Brook Wootton Brook

Catchment Partnership contributors

Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: