SRA Annual Report 2025-26: Major prize for Exmoor project part-funded by SRA
The Holnicote Estate Project, led by the National Trust in West Somerset, won the Catchment Restoration Award in the River Restoration Centre’s 2025 UK River Prizes, awarded in April 2025.
Somerset Rivers Authority part-funded 15 schemes in this project, including the UK’s first large-scale main river restoration using “Stage Zero” techniques, on part of the River Aller, and a similar restoration of 125 hectares upstream at Tivington Farm; the re-introduction of beavers to an enclosed site; and 12 other natural flood management schemes.
Together, these works have slowed and held back water and so reduced flood risks for places downstream such as Allerford and Bossington. They have cleaned water and created habitats for wildlife. They have fostered greater resilience in times of flood and drought, which has helped to keep land productive for farmers.