About
The Warwickshire Avon Catchment Partnership is a partnership of organisations who care about the River Avon catchment and are actively working together to restore it to a more natural condition.
Our vision is for a sustainable catchment of healthy rivers with functioning floodplains, resilient wildlife habitats and appropriate access, with people actively caring for and valuing their natural environment and heritage.
The Warwickshire Avon Catchment Plan goes into detail about our work.
Who we are
The Warwickshire Avon Catchment Partnership was set up in 2014 to drive local delivery of work to improve the water environment within the local area. The Catchment Partnership is hosted jointly by Severn Rivers Trust and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
Environment Agency are a core member, with active support from the Catchment Coordinator. We currently receive modest funding from Environment Agency to support running meetings and events, and contacting supporters.
Who is involved
There is a Steering group for the partnership which meets quarterly to organise site visits and plan ahead.
We respond to national consultations on the wider Severn River Basin area.
Members in 2024 are:
Heart of England Forest: Sophie Leszczynska
NFU: Georgie Hyde
SWFWAG: Joanne Leigh
Environment Agency: Nicola Edgar
Severn Rivers Trust: Imogen Rutter
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust: Gina Rowe
Warwickshire County Council: Sophie Wynne & Georgina Flower
We have a wide variety of partners from different sectors including wildlife charities, government bodies and farming groups.
Catchment Based Approach
From the source of our rivers to the sea, across our towns, cities, countryside and coasts – a healthy water environment is essential to all of us. It provides us with the water we need to live and to run our businesses efficiently. It reduces the risk to our homes and livelihoods of flooding.
A healthy water environment means better places to live, where people and wildlife flourish. In the past, management of the water environment has fallen to Government, to private companies and to landowners, often operating in isolation.
The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) embeds collaborative working at a river catchment scale, delivering a range of environmental, social and economic benefits and protecting our precious water environments for the benefit of us all.
The Warwickshire Avon catchment is characterised by low-lying undulating hills. There is a long history of flooding, but the dispersed nature of the settlements has meant traditional flood defence schemes have often not been viable. Water within the catchment is abstracted primarily for public water supply, agriculture and industry.
Rivers and wetlands in the Warwickshire Avon catchment are vital for wildlife and they are also invaluable to society for reasons beyond the wildlife benefits they bring. They store floodwater, provide recreation opportunties and can be major tourist destinations.
There are 7 Priority Areas the CABA Partnership are focusing on:
1. Coventry Brooks and Rivers
2. River Stour catchment including tributaries
3. River Alne Source to Confluence with Preston Bagot Brook
4. River Arrow, including Batchley brook
5. Upper River Avon, Rains Brook and Upper River Leam
6. Forest of Feckenham
7. Carrant Brook