Lower Trent & Erewash Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

A catchment with a healthy, functioning water environment with a rich and diverse collection of habitats and species. Areas of conservation value in good condition and connected by wildlife corridors. Fish can move freely throughout the catchment with ample spawning and nursery areas. Reduced flood risk through the use of natural solutions with properties and livelihoods resilient to climate change. Floodplains managed to store flood water as well as other benefits. High level of public understanding of the importance of rivers and their floodplains for people and wildlife. Communities involved with a local river projects with a range of recreation and accessible sites throughout the catchment. Water quality is improved and raised awareness of pollution risk from residential, commercial, rural and urban sources. Priority areas will benefit from focused attention to help them achieve objectives with partners supporting and working together to maximise achievements.

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.

• Lower Trent and Erewash Catchment Partnership webpage
• Catchment Management Plans on CaBA website

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Major Lower Trent and Erewash catchment successes are through creating multiple ‘hubs’ across the catchment to aid collaborative project development and delivery. A key hub is the Trent Gateway on the Lower Trent, focussing on improving fish passage to key spawning areas on the Derwent, improving fry habitat and reconnecting floodplain. Colwick fish pass is a major achievement expected to be completed in 2023, the largest fish pass in the country. Another important focus for the Trent is collaborating with partners to understand better how people use the river and the green spaces nearby, to support funding bids to connect people and places along the Trent. Other hubs include: Erewash, Nottingham urban, Bottesford Beck & Eau, and rural rivers such as the Greet and Devon. Recent restoration plans and scoping studies, developed with partners, are being used to help guide project delivery. Collaboration with universities has been beneficial for looking at, for example: fish migration, carbon capture and macroinvertebrates in urban areas. Project work has focused on catchment issues including: barriers to fish, water quality, habitat restoration, floodplain reconnection and natural flood management. The ‘River Starts Here’ project has engaged local businesses to improve water quality and restore natural processes. Other projects include:

• Trees on the Trent, a large-scale planting project led by Trent River Trust to increase bank-side tree coverage on the Lower Trent
• habitat improvement works with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust at Gresham Marshes
• fish passage works at Langley Mill with the Wild Trout Trust
• Erewash Meadows wetland and floodplain reconnection plans.

Partnership development plans

Increase partner collaboration on catchment-scale, multi-year projects and funding bids to help deliver shared catchment priories. More widely promote what is happening across the Lower Trent and Erewash catchment, especially in relation to the Trent Gateway. Continue to support local projects, organisations and authorities with shared aims to benefit the Trent. Work with businesses, landowners, schools and communities to increase awareness, appreciation and engagement with their local river, in order to help tackle key challenges but to also improve wellbeing and local action.