Soar Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

A healthy and functioning catchment that has a sustainable and diverse water environment that benefits people, the natural environment and the economy of the area. A catchment in good ecological condition with improved resilience to climate change, flooding and pollution events which is connected by robust and healthy habitats. This will be achieved by focussing on priority areas to restore natural river habitats and also support a thriving river. A priority is to reduce flood risk to areas of Leicester working with partners and using natural solutions to provide multiple benefits to the catchment in a coordinated, strategic way. The Soar Catchment Partnership will continue to build on its successes by cultivating and maintaining strong working relationships with stakeholders by sharing resources and expertise to work towards improving the profile and status of the river.

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 agriculture and rural areas

    Intensive land management in the upper reaches of the Soar contributes to high levels of diffuse agricultural pollution

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Urban areas are affected by polluted runoff from impermeable areas, roads and water treatment system discharges

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Rivers adapted for intensive agriculture and historical industrial activity now affect natural flows and water levels

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Diffuse loading of nutrients and sediment into rivers from widespread farming continue to affect water quality

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Greater public engagement required to enhance well-being through nature and improve understanding of the need to protect our river systems

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    Litter and plastics remain problematic across the catchment, disrupting drainage systems and having detrimental impacts on water quality and ecology

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Greater coordination needed to conserve a wider range of habitats at landscape and catchment scale

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Improved habitat management and diversity needed to protect against climate driven drought, flooding and abstraction pressures

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Poor urban drainage systems and surface water management cause localised flooding and impact groundwater recharge and stream conditions

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Physical modifications

    Heavily modified waterways and historical barriers alter flows, block fish passage and reduce biodiversity across the catchment

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Loading of nutrients, sediment and agricultural chemicals from rural areas alter aquatic ecosystem dynamics, lower resilience and reduce biodiversity

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Changing climate, catchment practices and modification of river channels impact on flow levels and contribute to increased flood risk across the catchment

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Emerging challenges

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

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Through effective partnership working there have been diverse and valuable projects delivered in the Soar catchment. The Shared Water project addressed pollution issues in Leicester through wide ranging community initiatives, including a play for children to improve their appreciation of the water environment, and the River Monster Project that highlighted the issue of plastics in the Soar. This engaged the community in creating the Monster from plastics. The WATERLIFE project supported investment to grow the partnership via a range of innovative projects such as combining sediment fingerprinting with flood risk mapping to establish priority areas. Improving the environment for people and wildlife, particularly in deprived communities lead to projects such as river restoration in Spinney park and Willow park in Leicester. This success has been built on with the significant investment in the Saffron Brook, Leicester from Defra’s Green Recovery Fund, which will both restore sections of the river and have wide ranging public engagement aspects. Delivering multiple benefits through Natural Flood Management (NFM) is a focus for the partnership. The Upper Soar NFM project delivered wide ranging benefits to people of Leicester in terms of flood risk and significant habitat creation. The Charnwood NFM project is helping to slow flows into Loughborough, whilst also reducing sediment run off and creating new habitat. In addition pollution from rural areas has been addressed through a number of projects focusing on farmer advice (e.g. River Eye). The partnership has helped distribute significant funding from Botanica to improve habitats in the Soar particularly for pollinators.

Partnership development plans

Increased promotion of the projects of all members the catchment partnership and the benefits of collaboration to create wider external interest in the partnership. Continue to support local projects, organisations and authorities with shared aims to benefit the Soar, via increased engagement and awareness of risks, challenges, opportunities and the value of the water environment to the local community. We would like to see a wider range of projects and initiatives, with increased financial support for partners and network of organisations. We hope to see an increase in active partners working collaboratively and greater understanding of the needs and issues faced by businesses, landowners and the wider community to improve the natural environment for all. The partnership is committed to the wider goals of habitat creation and improved biodiversity and is well placed to be a key delivery partner for the Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Trent Rivers Trust working with Tesco and their beef and dairy suppliers to identify and reduce agricultural pollution

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Soar River
  • Confident

    Botanica Project to improve habitats across the Soar Catchment particularly for pollinators

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Soar River
  • Confident

    Charnwood natural flood management project, a range of interventions in Wood Brooks to reduce diffuse pollution, flood risk and increase biodiversity

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Heritage Lottery Fund
    Location
    Black Brook from Source to Grace Dieu Brook
  • Confident

    Enhancement/no deterioration in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environmental Programme

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Soar
  • Confident

    Saving the Saffron: river restoration and natural flood management of Saffron and Wash Brook and community engagement

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Green Recovery Challenge Fund/Challenge Fund
    Location
    Wash Brook Catchment (trib of Soar)
  • Confident

    AVIVA Natural Flood Management project: reduce flood risk, improve water quality and biodiversity in multiple sub-catchments of the Soar

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Soar
  • Wider water environment

    Develop an informative criteria-based system for assessing flood risk and prioritising sub-catchments for future focus to mitigate key problems

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Soar
  • Wider water environment

    Develop a comprehensive programme of engagement with farmers, e.g. farm advice groups, to help improve aquatic systems

    Reason for measure
    Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Eye / Wreake from Langham Brook to Soar Willow Brook Catchment (trib of Soar)
  • Wider water environment

    Improve community and business engagement in monitoring and restoring aquatic systems

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Wash Brook Catchment (trib of Soar) Willow Brook Catchment (trib of Soar)