Pond restoration boosts water management goal

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Restoration work at the National Trust’s Attingham Park Estate is bringing overgrown ponds back to life and boosting the estate’s natural flood‑management capacity.

Contractors have cleared dense vegetation, opened up shaded areas, and carefully excavated silt to deepen the ponds and improve water storage.

This means the ponds can now hold more water during heavy rain, reducing the amount that enters the River Severn at peak times and actively demonstrates how nature-based solutions are vital to water management strategies.

Piles of logs have been left around the pond to provide refuge for amphibians and reptiles and valuable habitat for a variety of invertebrate species.

Jane Birch, who heads the Attingham Nature Recovery Project for the National Trust, said:

“The improvements are already transforming the ponds into richer habitats.

“With more light, cleaner water and better structure, they’ll support a wider range of wildlife, from insects and aquatic plants to birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, helping nature thrive across the estate and providing a spectacle for visitors as well.”

The work is being carried out as part of a demonstrator project funded by the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) and managed by Shropshire Council.

The project is one of the SVWMS’ eight demonstrator projects to have received funding and will test approaches that aim to reduce flood risk within the upper River Severn catchment area.

By making changes including creating wetlands, restoring ghost ponds, and planting trees to slow the flow of water through the estate, land on the Attingham Estate has the potential to store an additional 22,000 cubic metres of water.

Pete Lambert, SVWMS demonstrator project manager, added:

“The demonstrator projects play an essential role in informing the emerging strategy for water management in the Upper Severn.

“The modelling shows that Attingham Estate alone has the potential to store 22,000 cubic metres of water and if interventions, such as the ones being used there can be replicated at scale across the upper Severn catchment, we have the potential to make a significant contribution to managing peak flows across the catchment, demonstrating how nature‑based solutions can work at scale to build long‑term resilience.”

About the SVWMS: The SVWMS is a cross-border initiative led by the Environment Agency, in partnership with Natural Resources Wales, Powys County Council, and Shropshire Council, and funded by Defra. Its aim is to develop a holistic water management strategy for the upper Severn, which could serve as a model for similar projects nationwide.

To learn more and to have a say on the SVWMS emerging strategy visit: Have Your Say Today – Severn Valley Water Management Scheme – Commonplace