Aire Catchment Network

Catchment partnership vision

The River Aire, and its catchment, will be recognised as a gold standard example of the recovery of a post industrial river. It will be a thriving river, valued for its environmental, social and economic benefits. It will be appreciated by the community for its diverse ecology and contribution to flood risk management. We aim to improve the following:

  • Habitat and Species; create a landscape scale ecological network
  • Water Management; improve water quality to WFD standards or potential, minimise flood risk, promote sensitive land management, land-use to maximise water attenuation addressing urban diffuse and rural diffuse pollution
  • Planning and Regeneration; realise opportunities through planning processes, river improvements support a healthy local economy
  • Recreation and Leisure; maximise recreational resources whist avoiding detrimental impacts on wildlife
  • Engagement and Education; develop and deliver projects which empower communities to take ownership of their river.

Yorkshire Farming and Wildlife Partnership

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 waste water

    Sewage treatment works impact on water quality

  • Physical modifications

    Many barriers and canalised reaches impact on fish passage

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Agricultural runoff containing silt and phosphate impacts on water quality

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Connecting communities with nature will make it easier to achieve all other objectives

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    During 2020 one combined sewer overflow discharged for 2,092 hours in the Aire Catchment, impacting human and animal health

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Phosphate and ammonia concentrations are a significant problem, good soil practise will lead to less silt on spawning grounds now accessible

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Climate change will limit access to suitable spawning grounds, opening access to new migratory routes into tributaries is needed

  • Nature Recovery, protect and enhance rare habitats including chalk streams

    The partnership have identified significant stretches of riparian corridor that could be improved for nature recovery

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    Join us and many friends groups to tackle this eye-sore, which is also dangerous to many species so people can enjoy their local river corridor

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Physical modifications

    121 barriers exist in the Mid Aire, removing these provides climate resilience for a range of species, enabling movement to cooler areas

  • Pollution from waste water

    Misconnections and other pressures mean our sewer system is overburdened, one sewer overflow discharged for 2,092 hours during 2020, population increase will worsen this issue

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Having walked and recorded 72km of tributary in the Middle Aire, we know many areas where we can increase resilience in the landscape

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Since 2016, some of our success include:

  • Developing the Natural Aire (DNAire), enabling passage of salmonids up to Skipton by building 4 fish passes and a community engagement programme
  • Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme 2
  • natural flood management, Aire catchment-wide programme, designed to reduce the flood flooding and deliver a range of multi benefits through working with natural processes
  • Upper Aire habitat and land management project, working in the predominantly rural Upper Aire catchment, this 9 year partnership works with farmers to change practices to ensure water improvement and habitat creation
  • Live Streaming Leeds, a 6 year project with Leeds City Council, completing works on Wyke Beck, Meanwood Beck and Wortley Beck catchments
  • Invasive Non-Native species (INNS), over the last 5 years, Environment Agency and partners (Aire Rivers Trust, Friends of Bradford Beck) have completed an INNS treatment programme (Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed)
  • in the last 2 years the Aire Catchment Network has expanded and in 2020 created a new full time catchment officer.

DNAire

Partnership development plans

In the coming years we would like to see:

  • an expansion of more collaborative bids across the catchment
  • an expansion of interventions and projects in the Lower Aire, particular areas of focus include a citizen Science programme and growing community involvement
  • strengthen the integration of flood risk interests for a catchment approach to water management, river restoration and fish passage
  • working with landowners for best practise land management
  • catchment phosphate reduction.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Wider water environment

    Green solutions to significant combined sewer overflows impacting human and animal health in the Aire catchment

    Reason for measure
    Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Location
    Aire Upper Aire Middle Aire Lower

  • Wider water environment

    DNAire opened 60km of river to fish passage and is now focussed on removing barriers on tributaries connected to that 60km

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Location
    Aire Upper Aire Middle Aire Lower

  • Wider water environment

    Connecting communities with nature will mean more people being aware of the state of our rivers

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Location
    Aire Upper Aire Middle Aire Lower

Catchment Partnership contributors

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