2025 UK River Prize winner part-funded by SRA

An ambitious project aimed at restoring natural processes and ecological function in Somerset’s River Aller and Horner Water catchments is 1 of 3 finalists to win a Catchment Restoration trophy at the River Restoration Centre’s (RRC) prestigious UK River Prize Awards for 2025.

Led by the National Trust, the Holnicote Estate Project is supported by the Environment Agency, with funding from our partners at Somerset Rivers Authority, the EU’s Interreg 2 Seas Co-Adapt programme and Defra’s Green Recovery and Species Survival Funds.

Since 2018, the Riverlands team at the National Trust’s 12,500-acre Holnicote estate have been delivering pioneering and innovative approaches to both river restoration and land management, by taking a catchment-based, landscape scale approach. This has resulted in the area being both resilient in times of flood and drought, while also being rich in nature and remaining agriculturally productive.

Key areas of work have included the reintroduction of beavers into 2 enclosed sites and the UK’s first large-scale main river restoration using the “Stage Zero” technique.

This method, the ‘ctrl-alt-delete’ of a river reset, has transformed an historically straightened 1.2 km section of the River Aller, allowing the river to find its own course, resetting it to a more natural state with multiple, cross-connected channels flowing freely, slowly and fully connected to the floodplain. The result has been the creation of 7 hectares of waterscapes and wetlands (equivalent to more than 10 football pitches).

Dead wood, once a common natural feature in our rivers, was also used to help create the new wetlands by helping to slow and spread the flow of water. The land now remains wetter for longer periods of time, boosting biodiversity and water storage capacity, helping the river become more resilient to weather extremes.

Positive outcomes for the scheme include a reduction in flood peak by 40%, longer lag times and improved water health.

To find out more, visit Somerset Rivers Authority’s online news article: 2025 UK River Prize winner part-funded by SRA.