Hampshire Avon Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

The Hampshire Avon Catchment Partnership vision is for healthy water bodies within the Hampshire Avon catchment that are valued and nurtured by residents, businesses, and the wider community.

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

    Excess nutrient loads from wastewater treatment works has 1 of the most significant impacts on Avon River water quality

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Sediment and nutrient pollution have significant impacts on Avon River water quality, particularly in headwaters

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Over abstraction and modified river channels affects low flows and chalk stream ecology, particularly on trout & salmon

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

The partnership have not identified any wider water environment challenges

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

  • Pollution from waste water

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Physical Modifications

Emerging challenges

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

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

The Hampshire Avon Catchment Partnership has had a number of successes over 2016-2021, including: River Avon Restoration Project (2012-2017). Partnership members have implemented over 50 individual projects and over 30km of restoration to the river and floodplain of the Hampshire Avon catchment. The success and significance of this collaboration between partners and local landowners was recognised with the UK River Prize 2016. The Wessex Chalk Streams Project celebrated its 20 year anniversary in 2020 with the creation of over 25km of restored river habitat in the last 5 years. Working closely with the agricultural sector, the Partnership (particularly Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers, water companies and Farmer Cluster groups) collaborated to reduce the impact of agriculture on the Hampshire Avon. The success represented more than 5000 hours of volunteer work. The importance to the Partnership of maintaining and improving an up-to-date evidence base for data and information to inform further actions and activities on the Hampshire Avon was demonstrated with ongoing surveys and stakeholder engagement throughout the catchment.

Environment Agency

Partnership development plans

Hampshire Avon Catchment Partnership’s ambitions: develop and oversee catchment scale, nature based solutions to address current and future climate change impacts. Increase work with the agricultural sector to aid delivery of environmental benefits at a landscape scale. Continue to promote and advise stakeholders, including the public, to increase awareness and focus on the importance of a healthy water environment. Investigate and promote innovative funding to support the Partnership’s work.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Less certain

    Reduce the impact of excess nutrient run-off on water quality using landscape scale habitat creation schemes

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Barriers to delivery
    Pending delivery of an effective ELM scheme
    Location
    Avon Hampshire

  • Less certain

    Biodiversity net gain delivered through wetland creation/floodplain re-connection

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Developer funded
    Barriers to delivery
    Uncertainty regarding the policy around delivery of net gain targets
    Location
    Avon Hampshire

  • Less certain

    Nutrient management and Natural Flood Management opportunities to drive restoration at West Chisenbury (Upper Avon)

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Options over best mechanisms to deliver this project are being explored
    Location
    Hampshire Avon (Upper) u/s Nine Mile River confl

  • Less certain

    A river and floodplain restoration project at Wilton (lower Wylye)

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Lack of public funding and uncertainty of private funding sources
    Location
    Wylye (Lower)

  • Less certain

    The restoration of river and floodplain reaches through the River Avon Restoration Plan - Phase 2

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Requires large scale funding initiatives and buy-in from multiple stakeholders
    Location
    Avon Hampshire

  • Less certain

    A river and floodplain restoration project at Smallbrook Meadows (Were)

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Lack of public funding and uncertainty of private funding sources
    Location
    Wylye Trib (The Were or Swan)

Catchment Partnership contributors

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