Upper Bedford and Ouse Catchment Partnership: River Restoration Strategy development and catchment planning
Date: Summer 2025
For: Upper Bedford and Ouse Catchment Partnership (UBOCP)
Type: Baseline assessment, pressure and impact assessment, catchment planning framework and catchment restoration plan
The Upper Bedford and Ouse (UBO) catchment is very large in area and with the number and length of waterbodies it contains (88 rivers, canals and surface water transfers across 5 operational catchments) and has many issues across the catchment. One known significant issue across many of the waterbodies is modifications, illustrated by the number of waterbodies described as “heavily modified” (79 out of 88 or 90%) where morphology could be improved.
Attempts by the Upper and Bedford Ouse Catchment Partnership (UBOCP) to create a definitive list of ‘priority’ projects has illustrated that a large number of proposals relate to addressing modifications, but there has been no clear process for prioritisation. Previous projects delivered have been partly ‘opportunistic’ – while some were based on Environment Agency walkover surveys (for example) and have been put forward because of the relative ease of delivery, for example where access is good and landowners supportive. The Catchment Partnership agreed the need to develop its approach to identifying priorities for river restoration at a strategic (catchment) scale, to better target activities and take best advantage of future funding.
The first phase of the project involved a desktop analysis to prioritise the 88 waterbodies in the UBO catchment. This was completed using a ‘decision tree’ based on water quality status, biological status, and hydromorphological status (habitats).
In the second phase of the work, River Habitat Surveys (RHS) were completed by RRC staff, UBOCP members and volunteers to help identify pressures and impacts at a reach scale in some of the waterbodies. As a part of this process, the RRC trained volunteers to carry out the citizen RHS methodology. RHS survey work will be continued by the catchment partnership and their volunteers to build a more complete picture of habitat status in reaches across the UCO catchment.
In the third phase of the work, the RRC designed and passed on a framework for a Catchment Restoration Plan (using the methods taught in the Developing a Catchment-wide Restoration Plan course). The River Restoration Plan is a document that can be updated periodically (on an agreed timescale, or as new information arises) and is a powerful but flexible tool for the catchment partnership. It provides a space to bring together information gathered in each reach and waterbody. It also identifies the key pressures that are having an impact at the sub-catchment and catchment scale, thus allowing the catchment partnership to prioritise waterbodies and reaches and to know which individual pressures to target.
The data is held by the catchment partnership and is available for use by all partners.
For more information on UBOCP and the partnership's work see their webpage