Somerset floodplain plan 'will boost river's biodiversity'

Work is under way on the restoration project on the Holnicote Estate in Somerset

Reconnecting a river to its original floodplain will create a healthier and more biodiverse area, says the National Trust.

The major restoration project is taking place on the River Aller in Somerset.

The National Trust is carrying out the work on its Holnicote Estate and says it is a UK first.

"We now have a tried-and-tested method to start reversing the damage done to our rivers," said project manager Ben Eardley.

A pilot project which took place in 2019 - called Stage 0 - is now being scaled up to cover 15 hectares of river and landscape.

Mr Eardley said: "'Stage 0' floodplain reconnection completely resets natural processes...and lets the river decide what it wants to be.

"By seeing the river and its surrounding landscape as a whole, we can build resilience and boost biodiversity."

The project will see the River Aller reconnected to its original floodplain

Earthworks to reset the valley bottom and natural river flow have already taken place and 25,000 native trees will be planted in the spring.

"The river will no longer run along a single channel but form part of a complex waterscape with channels, pools, wetland and marshes," Mr Eardley said.

"This helps slow the river flow to help combat flooding and drought events as well as well as increasing wildlife and tackling the impact of climate change by holding water in the landscape.

"By creating these new wetlands, they will not only hold more water during floods or drought, but also effectively store carbon," he added.

The improvements will also support wildlife including dragonflies, fish, grass snakes, birds and otters.

The National Trust is working on the project in partnership with the Interreg 2 Seas co-Adapt programme and Environment Agency (EA).

Matt Pang, EA catchment coordinator, said: "We hope this project as a whole will significantly contribute towards achieving targets for nature recovery and climate change at a landscape scale, and provide vital evidence towards restoring natural processes in our river systems."