Following delays due to Storm Babet, the habitat works for Kibworth and Smeeton Nature Project, restoring a section of the Langton Brook in the Upper Welland, near Smeeton Westerby (Leicestershire) have finally been completed.
Funded by the Environment Agency, Harborough District Council, IFM Investors (Australia) and Anglian Water this project restored a section of the Langton Brook, part of the Upper Welland catchment. The Welland catchment has a long history of channel realignment and dredging. As a result, rivers are incised, disconnected from the floodplain, and with little in-channel habitat diversity. These modified channels were designed to transport water rapidly during high flows, increasing flood risk for communities downstream, evidenced by recent flooding in towns and villages such as Harborough, Stamford and Tallington.
Working closely with the landowners, 600 meters of new channels were created, partially reinstating the original course of the brook, some of which was modified prior to 1781 as is apparent in historical maps. The stream bed of the main channel was raised using locally sourced gravel in order to reconnect the floodplain. This has created a 1.5 ha wetland, which will help to store water during periods of high rainfall, improving climate change resilience. Gravel riffles and bars, berm features and ponds have the added value of increasing habitat for wildlife.
Later in the year, with the help of volunteers, the site will be planted with a range of native trees sourced with the help of the Woodland Trust, bringing the total area of habitat created to around 4.5 ha.
We thank all the landowners involved for their patience.