Cash bid to improve River Welland in town
A GROUP is hoping to secure a £640,000 bid to improve wildlife habitats along the River Welland through Harborough.
The Welland Rivers Trust, through the Welland Valley Partnership, has put in a bid to the Department for Environmental and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Catchment Restoration fund.
The scheme would see improvements made to the channel and the removal of eight concrete weirs.
They were installed to impound water in low-flow conditions but are no longer necessary, says the Trust.
It is hoped the work would improve wildlife habitats along the river, the town stretch of which is described by the trust as ‘more like a linear waste bin for supermarket trolleys than a living river’.
It would also see the launch of community awareness projects in town about the river, with help from students from the University of Leicester.
The bid for the cash is outlined in the partnership’s recently published draft plan, which outlines issues affecting the Welland Valley and identifies stretches of the river where further work is needed.
Other schemes planned for the valley, which stretches from Sibbertoft near Harborough to Spalding in Lincolnshire, include restoring Stamford Millstream, refurbishing a weir at Duddington in Northants, and creating brown trout spawning areas at Drayton, also in Northants.
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Weather for Market Harborough
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Light showers
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