North Norfolk Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Our vision is for clean and healthy rivers, with resilience to climate change, adequate provision of compensatory habitat, natural flood control, thriving chalk streams and wildlife, and more access for the public.

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 nutrients fundamentally affecting stream ecology and unknown risk from other toxins

  • Physical modifications

    Unnatural hydrogeomorphology affecting stream ecology and hundreds of barriers affecting biodiversity

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Constant input of silt and nutrients harming rivers and biodiversity

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

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

    North Norfolk catchment has many chalk streams and protected species

  • Improved shellfish waters

    Shellfish fisheries are not only part of a local economy and culture but also part of an ecosystem so protection is key

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Intensive agriculture in catchment affects chalk streams, water quality and flows

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Housing developments and climate change impact chalk streams, flows and water quality this is intwined with Net Zero and low carbon economy

  • Support levelling up, growth and jobs

    Jobs in North Norfolk are limited and 2nd home ownership is significant, keeping locals employed and in affordable housing is priority

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Engaging locals and tourists with North Norfolk's specialist wildlife should result in more care and protection

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

  • Pollution from waste water

  • Physical modifications

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

We are a small, friendly and effective partnership, holding regular meetings to help us find new opportunities to collaborate. We have produced catchment restoration plans for 9 chalk rivers, available on the Norfolk Rivers Trust website. A significant success for the partnership is the Glaven Eel Project 2015 -2018, we re-connected current generations with the eel, its folklore and traditions and restored river habitat for eels. We have also done work around environmental education, a particular success was the Mayflies in the Classroom sessions. We have supported Norfolk Crayfish Group in surveying for crayfish species, creating ark sites for White-clawed crayfish and identifying future ark site locations. We now have 7 confirmed populations of White-clawed crayfish. We have undertaken habitat restoration projects, for example, at Bayfield, we created a new channel to bypass a lake; we restored Selbrigg pond on the Glaven, and we used large woody debris to reawaken the River Stiffkey at Great Snoring. We created an Integrated Constructed Wetland to reduce phosphate in the River Mun and Little Broad lake. The lake has recovered from algal blooms, it is now mostly clear and fish have colonised. Ongoing work with River Glaven Conservation Group and Glaven fishing club to improve the Glaven, reduce silt, floodplain reconnection, large woody debris e.g. at Wiveton.

Partnership development plans

We plan to showcase more of the partnership's work, aiming to increase involvement from people outside the conservation sector e.g. insurers, bankers, local communities, farming supply chain and farming representatives, whilst maintaining a local focus. Our aim is to work with North Norfolk District Council on a drive to obtain Net Zero and work in a low carbon economy. We are also working with catchment partners to develop a 20 year landscape recovery partnership covering North Norfolk and North West Norfolk catchments.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Restoring habitats and natural processes in chalk streams (Stiffkey Total Catchment Solution/Burn Plan/Glaven Beavers)

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    North Norfolk

  • Confident

    Pond restoration and creation projects with Norfolk Ponds Project

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Confident

    Support; Norfolk Mink Project/Norfolk Crayfish Group/Norfolk INNS Initiative/Norfolk Ponds to improve freshwater ecology

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Confident

    Integrated constructed wetlands to improve water quality downstream of Water Recycling Centres (Holt & Burnham Market)

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Glaven Burn

  • Confident

    Combined farming advice and interventions such as wetlands and slowing the flow through the Water Sensitive Farming Project

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • 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
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Less certain

    Natural Flood Management at the farm scale - direct interventions targeted at reducing flood risk

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Barriers to delivery
    Securing funding, land owner engagement and permission, understanding of climate breakdown
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Less certain

    Working with farmers and highways to reduce verge damage and sediment entering watercourses e.g. through silt traps

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Barriers to delivery
    Securing funding, land owner engagement and permission, understanding of climate breakdown
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Less certain

    Developing projects to provide compensation for freshwater habitats impacted by the climate crisis

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Barriers to delivery
    Securing funding, land owner engagement & permission, understanding of climate breakdown
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Less certain

    Revisiting the plan for the Mun to find opportunities to encourage habitat improvement work

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Barriers to delivery
    Securing funding, land owner engagement & permission, understanding of climate breakdown
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Less certain

    Develop fish passage solutions for barriers preventing fish movement

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Barriers to delivery
    Securing funding, land owner engagement & permission, understanding of climate breakdown
    Location
    North Norfolk Rivers

  • Wider water environment

    Completion of Two Chalk Rivers project, enhancing habitat and improving water quality in the River Stiffkey

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, protect and enhance rare habitats including chalk streams
    Delivery mechanism
    Green Recovery Challenge Fund/Challenge Fund
    Location
    Stiffkey

  • Wider water environment

    Bayfield Wetland, improving water quality and habitat in the River Glaven catchment

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, protect and enhance rare habitats including chalk streams
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Glaven

  • Wider water environment

    Saving Norfolk's Crayfish - captive breeding programme and habitat enhancement for white clawed crayfish

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Glaven

Catchment Partnership contributors

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