The River Ryton

Rivers have always been a focal point of community, industry and connectivity in the landscape for both people and wildlife. Sadly, for some of the residents of Shireoaks and Worksop in Nottinghamshire, their proximity to the River Ryton has become a cause for concern.  

The Ryton, a tributary of the river Idle, flows from West to East through Nottinghamshire, as well as parts of Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The river itself has been heavily modified and constrained by urban development over time, resulting in very little connectivity to its natural floodplain which would naturally store and slow water when the channel reaches capacity. We are seeing an increase in extreme rainfall events due to our changing climate, and flood water from the Ryton and its tributaries is now finding its way regularly into homes and businesses. 

To put this into perspective, Worksop has experienced major flood events almost every decade since records began. Most recently, 132 properties were inundated in Worksop and 8 in Shireoaks during Storm Babet (October 2023). This was followed by flooding of 17 properties in Worksop during Storm Henk (January 2024). 

With these storm events only predicted to increase, this project is now looking at how natural solutions can be used to reduce flood risk and help protect these communities whilst working with nature, rather than against it. 

One catchment at a time

The ‘Saving Shireoaks & Worksop through NFM’ project is one of 36 projects funded through the Environment Agency’s £25 million National Natural Flood Management Programme and is taking a catchment-scale approach to flood alleviation. 

Over 140 locations have been identified as having potential to slow the flow of water into the Ryton and create increased water storage capacity through various NFM measures. The project aims to reduce peak flows by around 12% (in a 1 in 20-year flood) and increase the catchments storage capacity by over 80,000m³.

The delivery of the project is currently underway, led by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, with the measures being developed in conjunction with landowners, local communities, local authorities and the EA , and work set to be completed in Spring 2027. 

Why Natural Flood Management (NFM)?

NFM interventions can take many forms but ultimately aim to mimic natural processes and allow water to interact and connect with the landscape. This is typically done in two ways; 1) by slowing surface and channel flow, and 2) by creating storage areas to hold water higher up the catchment.  

Some examples of NFM measures are:

• Leaky Dams (woody material in watercourses that can help reduce peak flows, mimicking the work of the Beaver – Nature’s engineers!)
• Storage ponds (holding larger volumes of water and allowing slower infiltration)
• Tree planting (help slow the flow of surface water, reduce erosion and uptake litres of water each day)
• Scrapes (shallow depressions that store water during wet conditions and support wetland habitats)
• Bunds (raised mounds of earth that hold back surface water and allows it to drain slowly)
• Floodplain reconnection (allowing the water in the river to connect to its natural floodplain where possible)

Despite its name, NFM doesn’t only address flood risk. A 2025 report commissioned by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts concluded that “NFM projects deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits for people, climate and nature”. The report also found that over a 30-year period, for every £1 spent on NFM, you could see £10 in additional benefits.

This means that as well as helping communities be more resilient to our changing climate, NFM can also increase habitat and biodiversity, create vital access to green and blue space, and positively influence people’s health and wellbeing. 

A Wilder Future

As part of a national programme looking to address flooding, all the interventions and subsequent monitoring data will help feed into a national evidence base for future catchment-scale NFM schemes. This evidence will hopefully go a long way to proving the effectiveness of nature-based solutions when delivered at this scale, and open conversations about how this work can continue to be funded in the future. 

Here at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, we are already working with our partners to identify opportunities for similar projects in the upper reaches of the river Derwent, creating more space for nature and a hope for a more climate-resilient Derbyshire. 

Are you interested in natural flood management on your land? Contact dlf@derbyshirewt.co.uk to find out more.