Centuries of river re-routing to be reversed

Work has begun to restore a river's traditional course after centuries of re-routing straightened it to create farmland.

The historic meandering of a 1km (0.6 mile) section of the River Breamish on the Harehope Estate, south of Wooler in Northumberland, will be reinstated.

Contractors are excavating and diverting the river into its historic channels, installing silt traps, shallow ponds, wetlands, embankment breaches and constructing new woody dams.

The Breamish restoration is expected to be completed by late Summer, the Life Wader project said.

It is part of a wider River Till Restoration Strategy, named after the river the Breamish flows into.

Disconnection from its floodplain has led to a decline in freshwater species, reduced biodiversity and an increased risk of flooding, Life Wader said.

The work, which has been in development since 2019 and received planning approval in 2024, got under way late last week.

Phil Kearney, project manager at Tweed Forum which is involved in the restoration, said: "We should be hopefully complete within about eight to 10 weeks."

Jim Heslop, from the Environment Agency in north-east England, said the scheme will give "a boost for wildlife".

It is part of a five-year, £5.8m nature recovery project co-funded by the European Union and due for completion in December 2026.

Additional reporting by James Robinson, Local Democracy Reporting Service

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