Skip to content
Skip to main navigation

May 2022

Launch of new BACP Catchment Plan


The BACP recently held a site visit and event to launch our newly updated Catchment Plan. 

The BACP and its partners have achieved a lot in the past decade, but it is now clear that our response going forward needs to be more ambitious and urgent. In this revised Catchment Plan for the Bristol Avon, the BACP has set out its ambitions for improving water quality and aquatic habitats by restoring more naturally functioning waterways. It seeks to reconnect people with the water environment and nature, securing valuable health and wellbeing benefits. Empowering communities to take actions to improve their local rivers and streams is key to building momentum. This Plan is an important part of our region’s response to the Climate and Ecological Emergencies.

The newly published Catchment Plan includes a focus on four key aims, which the partners across the catchment have agreed to work towards:
  1. Enhance people’s enjoyment and connection with the water environment
  2. Improve water quality
  3. Restore biodiversity and ecological connectivity
  4. Adapt and build resilience to a changing climate
We were lucky to be able to visit Myrtle House Farm for the Catchment Plan launch, where Bristol Avon Rivers Trust worked with farmers to install interventions to reduce run-off onto a nearby road. These included bunded scrapes and attenuation ponds to slow run-off and reduce the amount of sediment being lost from the fields (see pictures below). We also saw signs that wildlife are already attracted to the new habitats being created.

To read the new Catchment Plan, please head to our website. We have also been working hard to update the BACP website, to provide more useful content for partners and community groups. We are slowly adding content to the site, so please get in contact if you have an event or any work in the catchment you would like us to promote.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Agriculture Group visits Wilmington Farm (Duchy of Cornwall) 

On Wednesday 27th April, the Agriculture Group was kindly hosted at the Duchy of Cornwall offices in Newton St Loe, Bath.  This is a joint Group supported by both BACP and the West of England Nature Partnership (WENP) and continues to provide a really useful forum to discuss many of the agriculture-related works and proposals in the Bristol Avon Catchment.

At the meeting, we had a very interesting update from Rachel Price- Greenow (Natural Capital Advisor) with regards to the Natural Capital Project that the Duchy of Cornwall are developing. We would also like to extend our thanks to Matthew Keeling who provided the Group with a tour of Wilmington Farm after the meeting. Wilmington Farm is one of the Duchy of Cornwall’s Focus Farms for trialling the delivery of natural capital enhancements. Matthew is currently working with the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust to install measures that are delivering environmental enhancements to protect and enhance the natural capital assets on the farm.
 
Following on the theme of environment enhancements, the Group also had the opportunity for an update from Patrick Vandesteen, who is leading the Cotswolds Downs Test and Trial project. This is one of the ELMs pilot schemes, and learnings from this pilot will be used by Defra to inform the development and roll out of the ELMS scheme in future years. The Cotswolds Downs Project has been researching and developing a market exchange of ecosystem services to unlock capital finance for nature’s recovery at a landscape scale.
 
If you have any questions about this article or the Agriculture Group please contact Zoe Hancock or Stuart Gardner (WENP Manager).

(Agricultural Group site visit to Wilmington Farm, near Bath)

 

Updates from further afield

CaBA Water Resources Communication and Engagement Fund

  • CaBA have recently opened a Water Resources Communication and Engagement Fund for Catchment Partnerships to facilitate a greater understanding of surface and/or groundwater water resource challenges and support the development and implementation of sustainable management solutions.
  • We would be happy to support applications from partners. If you are interested in applying, please contact us and we can send you on the application form.
  • The fund closes for applications on Friday 3rd June 2022.

 

Upcoming consultations

There are various consultations that are closing soon. As a Catchment Partnership, we will not be responding to all of these, but we would encourage and support individual partners to respond where relevant. 


Defra consultation on the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan:

  • Closes on the 12th May.
  • Follow this link to respond.

Defra Environmental Targets consultation:

  • Closes on the 11th May, but this deadline may be extended as Defra have not yet published all the supporting evidence documents.
  • Follow this link to respond.

Bristol Water and Wessex Water pre-consultations for the Water Resources Management Plan:

  • Bristol Water and Wessex Water are currently developing their Water Resources Management Plan 2024, and are running a pre-consultation as part of this process.
  • Bristol Water: The pre-consultation closed on the 9th May, but there will also be future opportunities to provide feedback. If you would like to respond, please contact the Catchment Partnership, who will forward on the details. 
  • Wessex water: The pre-consultation is open until the 10th June 2022. If you would like to respond please contact the Catchment Partnership, who will forward on details.