Natural England Commissioned Report NECR184 River Eye SSSI: Strategic Restoration Plan Technical Report First published 15 July 2015 www.gov.uk/natural-england Foreword This report was commissioned by Natural England and overseen by a steering group convened by Natural England in partnership with the Environment Agency. The report was produced by Royal HaskoningDHV. The views in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Natural England. Background The River Eye is a semi-natural lowland river The water quality is being addressed, but the which rises at Bescaby, approximately 10km physical character of the river channel also north east of Melton Mowbray. It flows for needs to be restored to secure good ecological approximately 21km, becoming the River and hydrological functioning. Wreake as it flows through Melton Mowbray and around Sysonby Lodge. As a result of its In 2014, a geomorphological appraisal of the characteristics as an exceptional example of a River Eye was carried out by Royal semi-natural lowland river, an area covering HaskoningDHV, the result of this appraisal 13.65ha and a length of approximately 7.5km enabled Royal HaskoningDHV to produce the was designated a Site of Special Scientific River Eye SSSI technical report and restoration Interest. This area, situated between Stapleford vision; combined make up the River Eye (National Grid Reference [NGR] SK 802186) Restoration Strategy. This report identifies and and Melton Mowbray (NGR SK 764188) equates prioritises physical restoration measures that will to approximately 40% of the total length of the help to achieve favourable condition and water River Eye. framework objectives. A survey in 2010 showed that the ecological This report should be cited as: condition of the river not improved, and the principal reasons for this were water quality and CAMELO, J., DOUGLAS, J., PRIDE, M., siltation. The siltation problem is exacerbated by DENNIS, I. & SMITH, C. River Eye SSSI: the lack of flow and structures, which impede Strategic Restoration Plan - Technical Report. the river’s hydrological functioning. Natural England Commissioned Reports, Number 184. Natural England Project Manager - Sadie Hobson, Natural England, Nottingham - Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham, NG2 4LA [email protected] Contractor - Leonardo Camelo, Martin Pride and Jack Douglas; Royal HaskoningDHV - Water & Land Environment, Rightwell House, Bretton, Peterborough, PE3 8DW, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 1733 334455; Email: [email protected]; Internet: www.royalhaskoningdhv.com Keywords - Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), river restoration, Water Framework Directive Further information This report can be downloaded from the Natural England website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england. For information on Natural England publications contact the Natural England Enquiry Service on 0845 600 3078 or e-mail [email protected]. This publication is published by Natural England under the Open Government Licence v3.0 for public sector information. You are encouraged to use, and reuse, information subject to certain conditions. For details of the licence visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3. Please note: Natural England photographs are only available for non-commercial purposes. For information regarding the use of maps or data visit www.gov.uk/how-to-access-natural-englands-maps-and-data. ISBN 978-1-78354-230-7 © Natural England and other parties 2015 River Eye SSSI: Strategic Restoration Plan – Technical Report CONTENTS Page 1 INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 Background 3 1.2 Project drivers 3 1.2.1 Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Biodiversity 2020 3 1.2.2 The Catchment Based Approach 3 1.3 Project aims and objectives 4 1.4 Purpose of this report 4 1.5 Report structure 5 2 THE RIVER EYE SSSI 7 2.1 Purpose of this section 7 2.2 Description of the River Eye SSSI 7 2.2.1 Location 7 2.2.2 SSSI interest features 7 2.2.3 SSSI units 7 2.3 River typology 9 2.4 SSSI condition status 9 2.4.1 Current SSSI condition 9 2.4.2 Assumptions on Favourable Condition 10 2.5 Water Framework Directive water body information 10 3 METHOD: DEVELOPMENT OF A RESTORATION PLAN 14 3.1 Purpose of this section 14 3.2 Overview of method 14 3.3 Study area 15 3.4 Desk based assessment 15 3.4.1 Data collation 15 3.4.2 Review of existing data 16 3.5 Field survey 16 3.5.1 Field survey sheet development 16 3.5.2 Geomorphological and ecological survey 16 3.5.3 Recording of field data 17 3.6 Data management and analysis 17 3.6.1 GIS development 17 3.6.2 Classification of river management reaches 17 3.6.3 Analysis of spatial trends 17 3.7 Results and analysis 18 3.8 Consultation 18 4 CATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS 19 4.1 Purpose of this section 19 4.2 Topography and drainage network 19 4.3 Geology and soils 22 4.3.1 Bedrock geology 22 4.3.2 Superficial geology 22 4.3.3 Soils 22 4.4 Hydrology and hydrogeology 23 4.5 Land use 23 4.6 Historic landscape 23 4.7 Channel modifications 29 4.7.1 Historical planform change 29 4.7.2 Historical modifications to channel cross section 29 4.7.3 In-channel structures 34 1 4.7.4 Sediment traps 36 4.7.5 Hard bank reinforcement 36 4.7.6 Melton Mowbray Flood Alleviation Scheme 36 4.8 Water resources 37 4.8.1 Water abstraction 37 4.8.2 Water quality 37 4.8.3 Flood Risk Management and the Catchment Flood Management Plan 38 4.9 Catchment ecology 39 4.9.1 WFD status 39 4.9.2 River Eye SSSI Condition 39 4.9.3 Invertebrates 39 4.9.4 Fish 40 4.9.5 Macrophytes 41 4.10 Summary: Catchment controls and conceptual model 42 5 GEOMORPHOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CONDITION 46 5.1 Purpose of this section 46 5.2 Summary of Management Reach-characteristics 46 5.3 Management Reach Summary Tables 49 5.4 Overview of catchment conditions 71 5.4.1 Substrate 71 5.4.2 Channel and banks 74 5.4.3 Flow dynamics and diversity 76 5.4.4 In-channel structures 78 5.4.5 Habitat structure and species abundance 78 5.4.6 Invasive non-native species 79 5.5 Key issues affecting the condition of the SSSI 79 6 CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER ACTION 82 6.1 Purpose of this section 82 6.2 Summary of key issues 82 6.3 Restoring the River Eye SSSI 82 6.3.1 Development of a restoration strategy 82 6.3.2 Principles of restoration 82 6.3.3 Restoration vision 83 6.3.4 Actions under the River Eye SSSI Strategic Restoration Action Plan 83 6.3.5 Developing solutions and identifying constraints 84 6.3.6 Sequencing of actions 84 6.4 Delivery mechanisms 87 6.5 The next steps: The need for consultation 87 7 REFERENCES 88 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The River Eye is a semi-natural lowland river which rises at Bescaby, approximately 10km north east of Melton Mowbray. It flows for approximately 21km, becoming the River Wreake as it flows through Melton Mowbray and around Sysonby Lodge. As a result of its characteristics as an exceptional example of a semi- natural lowland river, an area covering 13.65ha and a length of approximately 7.5km was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (Figure 1.1). This area, situated between Stapleford (National Grid Reference [NGR] SK 802186) and Melton Mowbray (NGR SK 764188) equates to approximately 40% of the total length of the River Eye. The River Eye SSSI is affected by a range of pressures including natural constraints, climate change and those resulting from both past and current management of the river channel and surrounding floodplain, which in turn are considered to compromise the condition of the habitats it is known to support. Subsequently, this means that the SSSI is currently assessed as being in Unfavourable (No Change) Condition. Restoration of the River Eye SSSI can provide numerous benefits, including the creation of more varied habitats for wildlife, the creation of improved in-channel habitats for fish, and reduced maintenance requirements by reinstating natural river processes. 1.2 Project drivers 1.2.1 Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Biodiversity 2020 The European WFD requires all EU Member States to protect and, where possible, enhance the condition of all bodies of water. As part of the WFD, surface waters such as the River Eye must reach Good Ecological Status by 2015 (or, in cases where there are significant pressures to address, 2021 or 2027). The river is not currently achieving GES, does not currently meet these targets, which means that the Environment Agency, Natural England and others are obliged to undertake work to ensure that the required standards are achieved in the future. In addition, the UK Government’s ‘Biodiversity 2020’ strategy includes a commitment to ensure that at least 50% of designated SSSIs (such as the River Eye) achieve “favourable condition”, (i.e. the site is being adequately conserved and is meeting its 'conservation objectives) and that 95% of sites are maintained in favourable or recovering” condition by 2020. Favourable condition means that all of the targets for the mandatory attributes (population and habitat) used to assess a feature have been met. If a SSSI site is in Favourable Condition, it means that the site is being adequately conserved and is meeting its 'conservation objectives'. A 2013 report by Natural England (‘Spotlight on SSSIs’) states that the total area of sites in favourable condition is 37.38%, highlighting that in total more than 130,000 hectares need to improve to favourable condition by 2020.