The River Wylye is one of the iconic chalk streams located here in Wiltshire. World famous and globally rare, it forms an irreplaceable part of England’s natural landscape. However, like many rivers across the country, it has spent centuries being dredged, straightened and polluted, putting its unique flora and fauna at risk of irreversible decline. 

In December 2023, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust shared the exciting news that the Wylye Valley Landscape Recovery (WVLR) Scheme had been successful in the second round of the Government's Landscape Recovery scheme. One of only 34 projects, it moved into the Project Development Phase (PDP) – so what’s been happening?

The WVLR Scheme officially launched in April 2024, and since then the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust project team has worked in partnership with Wessex Rivers Trust and Wylye Valley Farmers to develop a suite of plans to transform the Wylye Valley over the next 20 years. At the core of the plans has been the ambition to restore the Wylye to a healthier condition, where the river and floodplain are connected and functioning naturally, wildlife is abundant and thriving, and the valley is more resilient to climate change. 

Over the past 24 months the project team has undertaken monitoring of the project area and completed extensive walkovers to develop individual farm plans, as well as running engagement events and scoping opportunities to improve existing public access across the site. The information and data collected have been used to inform the 6 deliverable plans submitted to Defra. 

The Plans

The Land Management Plan details the ambitious plans for physical habitat restoration through the valley, including large scale floodplain reconnection, river re-meandering, and in stream enhancements. Alongside this, the plan includes changes to land management practises for the adjacent floodplain areas, such as reducing livestock numbers to transition to conservation grazing, and opportunities for woodland and parkland creation. 

The Wylye is currently vulnerable to extreme water flows – too much water in the winter and too little in the summer – and water temperature changes, which poses a significant risk to the river’s health and the survival of the wildlife that calls it home. The planned interventions will allow the water to be held in the landscape for longer during intense rainfall, helping increase aquifer recharge and in turn maintain water levels during drought, mitigating the impacts of extreme variability currently experienced. Riparian tree planting will provide shade to help manage water temperatures, providing critical areas of refuge needed for fish and aquatic invertebrates.

The proposals are supported by a robust monitoring and evaluation plan, so management practises can be adapted when required through evidence-based decision making. The monitoring plan covers a diverse range of indicators, and will allow the project team to track how target species are responding to the changes through the valley, creating a valuable evidence base for chalk stream restoration going forward. 

The Wylye Valley Farmers remain at the core of the WVLR scheme, with a new independent Single Legal Entity being established to support the project into the 20-year Implementation Phase. The new company will be supported by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Wessex Rivers Trust and will have a dedicated project team, but the farmers will be in the driver’s seat for delivering nature’s recovery. 

As a 20-year scheme, long term funding will be required to ensure success. This will come through a blend of both public funding and private investment, to create a resilient financial model that will continue to deliver. Public funding provides the foundation, but in order to deliver landscape-scale recovery, the project will also be seeking opportunities for private investment, including watercourse Biodiversity Net Gain, Nutrient Neutrality and Woodland Carbon trades. By securing private investment, we can ensure the project is able to deliver meaningful change at scale. 

What happens next? 

The project is currently going through assurance, where it is reviewed by Defra specialists before a commitment is made to long-term funding for the restoration of the Wylye Valley. Should it be successful in securing an agreed offer, it will then move into the 20-year Implementation Phase and works will begin on the ground.