What's happening:

OnTrent Projects (Area Based )

Trent Vale

A Community Landscape Project between Newark and Gainsborough. For more information please click 'Trent Vale'.

Strategic Partnerships in River Corridors (SPARC).

OnTrent has joined up with 9 other river corridor project partnerships around the north Sea in 5 European Counties. The SPARC project is funded by the Interreg North Sea 3b fund. All the projects are working on different elements of integrated river and floodplain management. As well as enabling each project to carryout more work there is lots of opportunity for the exchange of information and to learn from our European Partners.

For more information on the project please visit the SPARC website by clicking here.

As part of the SPARC project OnTrent is working on the following project areas.

The Trent Valley Habitat Pack; an information resource for farmers and landowners about undertaking habitat creation and management projects in an environmentally sensitive way. The pack also includes a leaflet about how to protect and potentially enhance the Historic Environment when carrying out work on a farm in the Trent Valley. To view the information pack on line, please click here. To request a printed copy please telephone 01889 880110 or email OnTrent. Funding also provided by English Heritage.

Project Start; March 2005. Completed; March 2006.

Wet woodlands feasibility study. OnTrent, Nottinghamshire County Council and the Forestry Comission are working with a range of landowners to identify a site along the Trent that may be suitable to develop as wet woodland. The site we are looking for may also be able to store floodwater after rain and reduce the risk of flooding downstream.

Project Start Date; September 2006. Completion Date; Ongoing.

Central Rivers Initiative

A partnership project developed to improve the long term land management activities after mineral restoration along the Trent and Tame River Valleys. The project extends along the Trent between Alrewas and the Staffordshire border with Derbyshire, and up the Tame Valley into Warwickshire.

A biodiversity audit of the entire project area including the Tame Valley Wetlands Project Area has recently been completed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust on behalf of the partnership. A PDF file of the report is available below.

CRI1 2.27MB (Biodiversity assessment and general recommendations).

Sustainable Floodplains and Washlands

This project is working with the University of Nottingham and the University of Manchester. It is funded by the Flood Risk Management Research Consortium.

The Nottingham work is looking at the floodplain downstream of Nottingham to identify ways using the floodplain to store flood water in a more sustainable way, and to reduce the risk of downstream flooding. The project will seek to integrate the Biodiversity, Archaeological and Social enhancements that are possible to acheive whilst reducing flood risk.

The Manchester work is looking at the use of planning tools, specifically Area Action Plans to secure sustainable floodplain management through development within and just downstream of Nottingham.

To find out more about the two projects above please click here. Project area 8.4

Farming Floodplains for the Future

This project is working with landowners on the upper tributaries of the Trent (Rivers Sow and Penk) in the west of Staffordshire. The objective is to find ways of storing floodwater high up in the catchment that compliments farm managment and enhances the landscape and biodiversity of the area. The project is funded by the Defra Flood Risk Managment Innovation Fund. For more information please click on 'Farming Floodplains'.

Trent Valley Way

A long distance footpath along the Trent Valley from Biddulph Moor to the Humber Estuary. For more information please click on Trent Valley Way. (Please note the Trent Valley Way pages have been moved recently).

Other Projects

There are a large number of other projects underway near the River Trent that fall within the scope of OnTrent.

We know of a a range of locally based schemes and want to find out about other groups and projects that are underway. If you are involved in a group or organisation whose work or interests fit within the OnTrent project then we want to hear from you. Please register.

To find out about what other projects are underway please click here.