The Fairham Brook is a significant wildlife feature running through Rushcliffe and was once classed as the closest thing we had to a chalk stream. Unfortunately the deepening and straightening of the brook’s channel by the Fairham Brook Internal Drainage Board in the early 1980s. Improved the drainage of surrounding agricultural land and to take flood water away from Bunny village, but drastically reduced the brooks ecological value throughout the straightened section. It was a long term aspiration of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency to improve the Brook`s ecology as the Brook is still known to support a range of fish including Brown Trout,  but also Swan Mussel Kingfisher and Grass Snake.

The water course from Ruddington Lane to Bunny is now under the care of the newly created Trent Vale IDB and they have started to change the situation with a policy of no dredging or regular bank cutting in future. In addition NWT and the EA with co-operation from the IDB have been able to provide EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) funding for a three years project to identify and implement a number of ecological friendly changes to the channel by the winter of 2014/15. These include

installation of pre-planted coir roll to create pinch points and speed up water flows, allowing the riverbed to be scoured, uncovering gravels which are used by breeding fish.

• installation of a hard cattle drink to reduce the amount of soil leaching into the brook.
• installation of a rock ramp to allow fish passage over a weir, which itself created a wildlife friendly pool.
• berm creation – additional areas of permanent vegetation slightly above the normal water level, both good for wildlife and also to reduce erosion on the opposite bank at bends.

Under a separate project Notts Wildlife Trust is also carrying out enhancement work on Fairham Brook nature reserve on the south-eastern edge of Clifton. The site comprises of areas of neutral grassland, remnant reedbeds and small ponds amongst areas of scrub woodland. Originally the land was frequently waterlogged, leading to a significant area of open fenland vegetation. But as a result of the deepening of the brook itself, the water table has dropped drastically and the fen habitat is declining steadily.

NWT intend to halt this decline by creating additional ponds on the site to retain water, reduce tree cover to slow water loss and create a figure of eight ditch which will take in water from the brook at times of high water levels and transfer it through the fen area, connecting some of the deeper ponds and then slowly releasing the water back into the brook. Overall besides rewetting parts of the site it also increases the flood water storage of the site. Some of the work has already taken place – scrub clearance, topographical surveys etc, but to avoid damaging the peat layer the ditches and ponds will be created in autumn 2015.

Whilst this represent small pieces of mitigation for one of Britain’s last “heavy handed” drainage schemes it is hoped that it is the start of a richer wildlife future for Fairham Brook.

For a more extensive article based on Ruth Testa`s talk to the local group follow this link to a