£500,000 landscape recovery plan for River Adur

Horsham District Council, working with several other organisations, has supported 27 farmers and land managers who are part of the Adur Farming Cluster Group to successfully secure the funding.

The project will form part of the ‘Wilder Horsham District’ initiative, which is a partnership between Horsham District Council and the Sussex Wildlife Trust, aiming to establish connected habitats that support wildlife and reverse the decline in biodiversity.

The Adur River Restoration Project is one of only 22 nationwide schemes to receive funding from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

It will revitalise and restore the River Adur and its catchment, creating a new ribbon of habitats running through a wildlife-friendly farmed landscape.

The project aims to restore nature, reduce flood risks, improve water quality, and boost biodiversity in the River Adur area.

A Horsham Council spokesperson said: “It will support farmers and landowners to explore how new features and habitats can be created on their land, such as by removing embankments to allow flooding, and to improve the health of the soil through regenerative farming techniques.

“Land managers will each be contributing a portion of their landholding, mostly their floodplains, to create a largely connected area of at least 766 hectares of new habitat and river restoration, stretching from the Knepp estate to Shoreham, where the river meets the Sussex Bay restoration of the sea beds and kelp forests along the Sussex Coast.

“The changes at this scale will require strong collaboration between all of the farmers and landowners involved in the project, and the organisations that are supporting it. There will also be public engagement to explain the proposed changes to the communities that live and work in the area.”

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Horsham Council cabinet member for environment and rural affairs James Wright said: “It is a fantastic achievement to have been awarded these vital funds after such a competitive application process which has taken many months of collaborative work.

“To have been one of only 22 projects nationally to be selected, we clearly demonstrated against stiff competition that we have pioneering ideas that will both improve the natural landscape and reverse the decline in nature."