Restoring a historically straightened stream to its natural meandering path to slow the flow of water through the valley, reducing downstream flood risks and improving water quality, habitat creation, and biodiversity.

Nature-based Intervention:

In 2016, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) partnered with the landowner, United Utilities, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ‘rewiggle’ the Swindale Beck. This project involved restoring 1,140 metres of heavily human-modified river, 1,000 hectares of bog and 15 hectares of species-rich hay meadow within the Swindale Beck catchment. This involved digging a new, sinuous channel, re-homing resident fish species, planting 40,000 trees within the catchment, and re-filling and re-seeding the old channel with wildflower seed from meadows designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation either side of the river. The Swindale Beck restoration is part of a wider set of works within the Swindale Valley that use best-practice land management for flood alleviation.

Overview of context and outcomes:

Approximately 200 years ago, the community of Swindale undertook a project to straighten a section of the beck running along the valley bottom, with the aim of speeding water flow through the valley and increasing the amount of farmland. This had the consequence of increasing flood risk for people living downstream and scouring away natural gravel banks that are important for wildlife. After the restoration environmental benefits were realised relatively quickly, with salmon spawning on the banks within months and enhanced habitat diversity able to support increased species diversity.