River Restoration

Many of our rivers and chalk streams need restoring to a more natural state. This is to ensure they can continue to boast an incredible range of wildlife as well as provide the services we rely on as society. Wessex Rivers Trust identifies key problems our rivers face, works with partners, and stakeholders to come up with suitable solutions and ultimately plans and delivers restoration projects using well-proven as well as new and innovative methods.
Our work ranges from removing weirs and installing fish passes, reconnecting rivers with their floodplains, improving habitat and generally making rivers and their catchments more resilient to climate change.

FReSH Water Programme

The FReSH Water Programme is an ambitious package of projects aimed at improving the resilience of our chalk streams to drought conditions.

Watercress and
Winterbournes

Watercress & Winterbournes’ is a National Heritage Lottery Fund funded project aiming to benefit the environment and communities across the headwaters of the Test & Itchen catchments

Upper Test Habitat Improvements

A project that dramatically changed in-channel features creating a better habitat for wildlife.

Bryanston Weir Bypass

A new fish pass has been installed to allow a range of fish species to navigate the weir and migrate up and down steram.

Ripley Brook

A Natural Flood Management (NFM) project with the desired outcome of trying to reduce peak flows entering the Ripley Brook.