Background

The project

Focusing on a stretch of the Western

Rother that extends 4.5km upstream

from Coultershaw bridge, this project

began as a series of informal

discussions with the landowner –

Leconfield Estate – about how best to

improve both the river and the

surrounding floodplain meadows.

Habitat quality on this part of the

Rother is degraded for a number of

reasons, including:

 historic channel modifications,

 bed-lowering for navigation,

 extensive 20th century land

drainage works, including a

rolling programme of channel

dredging and

 intensive arable agriculture on

the valley sides, where friable

sandy soils are easily eroded.

The legacy of bank-top bunds also

means that in many places the river is

no longer effectively connected to its

adjacent flood plain. The river will still

spillover its banks, but only at flow

rates much greater than prior to the

bed being lowered; as a result, bank-full

water velocities are high, exacerbating

erosion, increasing sediment load and

further reducing in-channel habitat

quality.

The poor ecological quality of the river

was confirmed by the Environment

Agency’s Water Framework Directive

assessment, which concludes that the

river only meets moderate status. The

challenge then was to find a cost-

effective and simple intervention to

improve this situation.

The project was undertaken in partnership with the Wild Trout Trust and the

Leconfield Estate, and was funded by a £5,000 grant from the Sussex Lund

Charitable Trust and a £2,280 contribution from the South Downs National Park

Authority (SDNPA). Work for the project was divided into four main parts:

1. Lowering the river bank. This was done in a strategic location to improve

the river’s connection with its floodplain, reduce flood risk downstream and

create valuable wetland habitat. It will also allow the river to spill onto the flood

plain earlier, reducing sediment loads in the channel itself and promoting sediment

deposition at an earlier stage as opposed to allowing it to wash downstream.

2. Narrowing the river channel & creating a wide shelf. Using material

from the bank lowering work, a wide shelf was built out into the channel.

Contained within a framework of locally-sourced hazel faggots, the shelf will not

only narrow the river – of benefit to spawning wild trout and inverts – but also

create a large and diverse habitat of bankside wetland plants.

3. Adding large woody debris. Selected bankside alders were hinged into the

water in a similar fashion to hedge laying. Other trees were felled and the butt

ends secured to the trunk of a live tree using flexible galvanised cable. This will

allow them to move in the current and creates what’s known as a floating

“kicker”. Both methods are quick and easy ways of creating valuable marginal

cover for fish and invertebrates, and help buffer the banks.

4. Tree planting. With the help of volunteers, a variety of trees were planted

along a 4.5km stretch of floodplain. This included over 30 rare black poplars

(supplied by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as part of a project to conserve the

species) and several varieties of disease resistant elms. The trees will provide

valuable habitat and boost bank resilience, as well as limiting rising water

temperatures, caused by climate change, leading to increased fish mortality.

Also include general financial information, e.g. overall project cost, SDNPA

Case Study

Rother Revival Project

The future

“It is hoped this project can be a

catalyst and a template for further

work in the Rother Valley”

Andy Thomas, Wild Trout Trust

By lowering a section of bank along this stretch of the Western Rother the

Rother Revival Project represents an important – albeit small – step in helping

enhance, restore and re-wild what remains a heavily modified and, in places,

degraded river.

Not only has the project delivered downstream flood risk benefits by providing

additional water storage further up the catchment, but it has also helped

improved habitat in a number of ways, including by:

 Increasing the availability of in-channel woody debris

 Helping protect and stabilize vulnerable and highly erodible banks

 Increasing the area of riparian habitat for a range of plant species that

grow immediately adjacent to the river channel

 Ensuring wet grassland habitat remains wet for a longer period over

winter, to the benefit of a variety of wetland birds and small mammals

 Increasing the number of trees throughout the catchment, including of

uncommon species like black poplar and disease resistant elm.

Furthermore, what has been achieved as part of this project will hopefully

inspire other landowners along the Rother to consider undertaking their own

enhancement projects, potentially resulting in significant overall improvements

to the river catchment.

In order to help communicate the outcomes of the project a short video has

also been produced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm4yNlXlV2I

Hopefully this will help inspire further improvements throughout the Rother

catchment as well as further afield.

The outcome

The South Downs National Park Partnership Management Plan (PMP)

2020–25 The Partnership Management Plan 2020-2025 brings together and

coordinates the aspirations of many different partners who help contribute

towards the purposes for which it was designated.

This project successfully achieved the following PMP outcomes:

Outcome 1.1 Protect Landscape Character

Outcome 1.3 Create Green Infrastructure

Outcome 2.1 Improve Soil and Water

Outcome 2.2 Improve Trees and Woodland

Outcome 3.1 Join Up Habitats

https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/partnership-management-plan/

This project demonstrates

how much can be achieved by

working in partnership, pooling

both resources and expertise.

Moreover, it also shows how

an initial attempt to improve a

small area of habitat or

landscape can result in the

identification of a range of

other potential sites and

projects for enhancement.

By providing a low-cost and

long-term example of how to

enhance habitat and boost the

health of catchment, hopefully

it will be the first of many

more such projects along the

Western Rother.

Watch this space!

Charles Winchester

SDNPA Ranger,

Wealden Heath area team

charles.winchester@southdowns.gov.uk

September 2020