News

Work has started this winter to reconnect more than a kilometre of historic river channel along the River Kemp in the Shropshire Hills.

The project sits within the headwaters of the River Clun, a Special Area of Conservation that supports internationally important freshwater species including Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussel.

Severn Rivers Trust is working with the farmers along the straightened section of river to change the way the water moves through their farmland.  A network of wetlands and floodplain features are being created to slow, store and clean water naturally. Restoring a more natural river system will bring benefits to both the farm and nature.

Historically, this valley formed part of a 19th-century floated water meadow system, which directed water from the Kemp across the fields to enrich the soil and produce early grass for livestock. Today, that same landscape is being reshaped to work with natural flows again and creating habitat for fish, birds and invertebrates.

This partnership project is the largest river rewiggling project in the Severn Basin. It is being delivered by Severn Rivers Trust with funding and support from Catchment Sensitive Farming, Environment Agency and Shropshire Hills National Landscape Team.