Rother and Romney

Catchment partnership vision

The partnership’s vision is to restore natural processes within the catchment so the river and wider landscape is valued, benefiting both local communities and wildlife. The partnership will oversee a wide range of projects, including land management advice and habitat restoration. We seek to implement, or facilitate the implementation of, nature based solutions to reduce flooding and improve water quality wherever possible, and to enable the catchment to become more resilient to climate change.

Fran Southgate

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

    Privately owned waste water facilities, properties not connected to sewerage infrastructure and Waste water Treatment plant impacts

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Soil erosion and surface water run off from rural areas contributing to high levels of sediment and nutrients in the watercourse

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Derelict infrastructure impacts on natural flow, reducing peak discharge, extending lag time, habitat provision

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    High risk of soil erosion, land management and natural flood management needed to reduce soil and nutrient loss to the watercourse

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Consented waste water discharges (CSO's) are contributing to deterioration and investment is needed to upgrade infrastructure

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    A long term, holistic and integrated approach is needed for catchment resilience including field, in-channel, discharges, INNS and highway measures

  • Achieving Net Zero including supporting a move to a low carbon economy

    Can be achieved through the promotion and uptake of nature based solutions and measures to enhance soil carbon

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Stakeholder engagement, promote Environmental Land Management, nature based solutions and beaver habitat potential to enhance catchment resilience

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Resolve by identifying invasive species, support Environment Land Management, engage with land holders and stakeholders to improve nature regionally

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    High percentage of agricultural land requiring water level management and incompatible land management priorities reduce ability to achieve good status

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Diffuse pollution from agricultural sources is impacting many waterbodies, with potential to impact nutrient vulnerable zones and drinking water

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Surveys and incident reports reveal significant presence of INNS such as Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed, Giant hogweed and Floating pennywort

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from waste water

Emerging challenges

  • Pollution from waste water
  • Physical Modifications
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Partnership highlights include, research on water quality, biodiversity, history and archaeology, flood risk, climate change & people engagement. Advice to farmers and landowners; installed off-grid livestock drinking system and riverside fencing for cattle; hedge planting and restoration scheme Beautiful Boundaries, 21 land managers restored 10 km of historic boundaries; planted 24,000 trees and shrubs. Partnership project to show the value of regenerative agriculture (Shaw Farm, Etchingham). Managing pollution from Fairlight in relation to the sewage treatment works on Pett Level Road. ‘Strandliners’: monitoring plastic pollution along parts of the River Rother and tributaries. Adopting technologies to reduce the need for herbicides. Collating data from county record centres to produce an INNS map. Trialling drone technology to map invasive species. INNS survey of the River Rother, giant hogweed control project completed on River Rother and tributaries; manually removing invasive/unwanted species. Installing fish pass at Doleham station and eel pass at Sedlescombe mill. Catchment wide barrier assessment, prioritisation and options for 100 barriers. Data on existing Barn Owl boxes collated and sites for additional boxes identified, funds secured from Sussex Lund for over 29 barn owl nesting boxes. Cuckmere Coombe Haven Sussex Flow Initiative, Bumblebee Conservation Trust's (BBCT) project with 95 farmers and land owners, Fifth Continent Blue Lanes and Green Lanes Projects.

Christine Wenhurst

Partnership development plans

Better involvement, knowledge sharing and use of stakeholder expertise to:

  • undertake catchment-scale climate change resilience assessments
  • identify gaps in partner knowledge, bring in expert help (soil, climate resilience)
  • support farmers to move to more nature-based farming techniques
  • work with Environment Agency to remove watercourse obstructions
  • review areas of interest
  • focus on Etchingham catchment and headwaters.

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
    Rother

  • Confident

    Trained and experienced network of volunteers monitoring plastic pollution

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Voluntary initiatives
    Location
    Rother

  • Confident

    Community Action Teams project

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Voluntary initiatives
    Location
    Rother

  • Confident

    Facilitating natural flood management

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Cradlebridge and Reading Sewers Dengemarsh Sewer

  • Confident

    Restoration and creation of District Level Licensing works - great crested newt ponds (Folkestone and Hythe District)

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Reading Cradlebridge and RMC Romney Marsh South Rother Levels

  • Confident

    Invasive Non-native Species control and removal works across the Folkestone and Hythe District

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    Heritage Lottery Fund
    Location
    Lower Rother from Etchingham to Scot's Float Cradlebridge and Reading Sewers Dengemarsh Sewer

  • Less certain

    Stakeholder partnerships to mitigate plastic pollution

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Voluntary initiatives
    Barriers to delivery
    Awaiting completion of research and data collection
    Location
    Rother

  • Less certain

    Education delivery to primary and secondary schools

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Voluntary initiatives
    Barriers to delivery
    Covid 19 restrictions to delay ability to deliver in the short term
    Location
    Rother

  • Less certain

    Working with landowners to deliver benefits for wildlife and the environment, and mitigate effects of climate change

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Organisational capacity to work with landowners
    Location
    Lower Rother from Etchingham to Scot's Float Cradlebridge and Reading Sewers Dengemarsh Sewer

Catchment Partnership contributors

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