Great Yorkshire Rivers partnership enters next phase in river health and restoration

Great Yorkshire Rivers (GYR) - a partnership between Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and The Rivers Trust – starts its next phase of funding of over £21 million investment to support river health and fish migration and open up over 500km of Yorkshire rivers.

Formed in 2022, Great Yorkshire Rivers aims to work in collaboration with partners and local stakeholders to remove physical barriers, often a legacy from the region’s heavy industrial past, that are obstacles to fish moving freely within rivers and preventing them reaching breeding sites. 

Funding supports local river health groups, charities and organisations helping them to break down barriers, restore connectivity and revive ecosystems in the region’s rivers and waterways.  This activity enhances biodiversity, improves river health and creates better water environments for generations to come.

Physical and political obstacles have already been overcome in the last decade with over 100 historic barriers to fish passage removed including the Hirst Mill Weir on the River Aire, Stocksbridge Weir on the River Don and Bowers Mill Weir on the Black Brook, near Halifax.  The Environment Agency, Rivers Trust and Yorkshire Water, and representatives of the partnership network, came together on 19th September at Bradford Amateur Rowing Club (BARC), Saltaire, to formalise their shared vision at the start of the next five-year funding period which is:

By 2043 Great Yorkshire Rivers will have addressed all artificial barriers negatively impacting fish populations in Yorkshire, enabling the recovery of native fish species and helping rivers and their communities to thrive.

Fully removing redundant structures, often associated with mills, and heavy industries that were powered by the region’s waterways, is the preferred method as this delivers the greatest ecological and community benefits.  It also reduces the owners’ maintenance liability and improves public safety.

For the next five years (2025 – 2030) Yorkshire Water has secured £11.4m as part of its environmental programme, with an additional £10 million match funding targeted through the Great Yorkshire Rivers partnership.  This will deliver a total of £21 million investment to open up over 500 km of river habitat across Yorkshire.

Tim Hawkins, Director of Strategy & Regulations, Yorkshire Water, said:  “Yorkshire Water installed a number of fish passes to improve fish migration but realised that we could achieve so much more working with like-minded organisations that share the same ambitions.  We began our informal collaboration with the Environment Agency and Rivers Trust in 2009 to build on a foundation of trust and expertise.

“In 2022 this became a formal partnership and we were challenged to see how ambitious we could be.  Two years on, we are making great progress, as illustrated by the recent news of salmon breeding once again in the river Don.  But we have lots more to do and we are keen to expand the partnership and the vision with a desire to make a big difference.

“Yorkshire Water is committed to this long term to the 2043 date because we see this as a flagship for strategic partnership with us, the Environment Agency and Rivers Trust and a long-term vision, gives stability and the ability to plan ahead for longer terms solutions.

“Investment in the environment is a strategic pillar for Yorkshire Water, we can’t tackle artificial barriers or recover rivers at scale alone.  Working in partnership, however, allows us to operate differently, expand our ambitions and collectively, we can deliver what’s right for the environment and ultimately, what is right  for our customers too.”

GYR funding supports feasibility, design and delivery whilst also investing in partner training and capacity building, meaning people as well as projects, can benefit from financial support.  This is an important element of this work. 

The Don Catchment Rivers Trust has hit the headlines recently with the discovery of a salmon parr in the River Don, that could only happen in clean, fresh water.  This undoing of 200 years of industrial harm could not have been achieved by a single entity but by a collaborative effort.  The realisation of this vision takes environmental expertise, significant funding, willing volunteers, and a full-time fishery habitat officer, funded by the scheme, who is galvanizing a community together to excite, engage and participate in bringing the Don back to life.

Jenni Balmer, Deputy Director for Nature Recovery, Environment Agency said:  "Fish are environmental indicators of the health of our rivers and lakes. And right now, they are under pressure from every direction - water quality, water quantity, and degraded habitats.

“Those pressures are growing. Climate change is bringing warmer waters, non-native species, and fragmented, degraded habitats.

“GYR represents a template for other water companies to replicate through their own Price Review process to deliver more initiatives across England to address this national challenge."

Mike Dugher, Area Director for Yorkshire, Environment Agency said:  "The county's industrial heritage fragments Yorkshire with over 5,000 artificial barriers, of which 2,000 we know negatively impact fish populations today. Many are redundant structures with financial implications and health and safety liabilities to current owners.

“Yorkshire has a long tradition of tackling barriers to fish migration, addressing over 120 barriers since 2009. The Great Yorkshire Rivers partnership strengthens that resolve.

“The Environment Agency is a significant asset owner, and we have responsibility to do our utmost so that structures that serve an important role of water level management and reducing flood risk, also mitigate or limit their impact on our rivers' ecology.

“We look forward to creating resilience in Yorkshire's rivers, while supporting education and awareness in our communities. I know that the EA has ambitions that the Great Yorkshire Rivers partnership will create a blueprint of success for other regions, water companies and rivers trust and communities to adopt in the future."

GYR operates as a collaborative network of 12 delivery partners - including Aire Rivers Trust, Natural England, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Canal and Rivers Trust - sharing resources and expertise to tackle high-impact barriers. 

The partnership is committed to inclusive, site-specific solutions that respect heritage and community values, ensuring stakeholder engagement throughout.

Anna Gerring, Deputy Director for Strategy Development at The Rivers Trust said: The Rivers Trust is proud to be part of the Great Yorkshire Rivers Partnership, which embodies our vision of wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all. 

“Addressing barriers to fish migration may be the key project objective, but by tackling this hurdle, we are also delivering an assortment of other benefits, including: improvements to water quality, restoring natural river processes, supporting riparian habitats and the wildlife populations that are reliant on them, promoting biodiversity increase, and enhancing blue spaces for local communities

“The impact of physical barrier modification is clear: we need to tackle weirs and dams to re-naturalise rivers and restore nature to their catchments, making them more resilient to the inevitable impacts of climate change and pollution. The work of the partnership is contributing to supporting healthy rivers, with an abundance of nature, fish and other wildlife, but also actively promoting the value of our rivers in Yorkshire, which are actively protected by local communities.

“Strong, long-term strategic partnerships, like Great Yorkshire Rivers that collaborate with a range of catchment partners are key to scaling river restoration. No one organisation can tackle this alone – together we are stronger.”

By 2043 GYR has set an ambition to transform Yorkshire’s reivers into thriving ecosystems, reconnecting habitats and communities through established nature focussed solutions.

Funding supports hiring people to run schemes and engage communities as well as investment opportunities to remove physical barriers.  It has set an ambitious target to clear over 500km of Yorkshire rivers through:

Removing or modifying high-impact barriers

Creating safe downstream routes for juvenile fish

Enhancing river habitats with natural features like boulders and woody debris

Supporting local engagement through events, volunteering, and education