The catchment of the River Glenderamackin is approximately 142 square kilometres and includes the mountains and river valleys that drain into Keswick, including Mungrisdale, Troutbeck, the Naddle and St John’s in the Vale.
The River Glenderamackin is part of the River Derwent and Bassenthwaite Lake Special Area of Conservation (SAC), whilst most of the upland areas of the catchment are part of the Lake District High Fells SAC. The entire catchment sits within the Lake District National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated for its cultural heritage.
In many ways, the Glenderamackin catchment is a special place, but it is not without its challenges. Communities, businesses and landowners in the catchment are facing a combination of environmental, social and economic challenges created by climate change and historic land use policy, including those outlined below:
- Increased frequency and severity of flooding - Homes and businesses in Keswick are at risk of flooding and this risk is predicted to increase with climate change.
- Poor water quality - From wastewater discharges and agricultural runoff mean the SAC river is in an ‘unfavourable’ condition.
- Poor habitat condition - Important habitats such as woodlands, wetlands and ponds have disappeared from our countryside. Those that still exist are often in poor condition and are not connected so wildlife can’t move through the landscape.
- Degraded peatlands – When peat is in a poor condition it increases fire risk, contributes to flooding and reduces habitat available for wildlife. The erosion of peat is also source of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Vulnerability to drought – Drained and modified landscapes don’t hold onto water, making them susceptible to drought during the dry summer months. This has negative effects for businesses, farms and wildlife.
- Changing agri-environment policies leading to uncertain futures for farm businesses.
Between 2018 and 2022, West Cumbria Rivers Trust delivered a suite of Natural Flood Management and habitat improvement measures across the catchment, working with over 40 farmers. The project was a success and demonstrated how natural flood management can work. However, to meaningfully contribute to flood risk reduction there was a recognition for the need to scale up the approach and create a way to pay farmers and landowners to look after these interventions for the long term.
From September 2023, with DEFRA Landscape Recovery development funding, West Cumbria Rivers Trust has been working with The Rivers Trust and Nature Finance to develop plans with landowners and managers for how to scale up an approach to natural flood management in the Glenderamackin catchment.
In June 2025, the project team will submit six plans to DEFRA for determination.
This work was funded through the DEFRA NFM program, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development Water Environment Grant and the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
We aim to develop a network of nature-based solutions across the Glenderamackin catchment that will:
- Reduce flood risk to Keswick and increase resilience to climate change by reducing predicted future flood peaks by 10% (modelled for the present day 1 in 30-year flood event);
- Improve water quality;
- Restore habitats and enhance biodiversity;
- Store carbon;
- Replenish water supplies to offset water that is abstracted and increase resilience to drought.
To create a Resilient Glenderamackin catchment, these features need to be delivered at scale. We are aiming to deliver 800,000 cubic metres of flood water storage by connecting rivers to their floodplains, creating 185 hectares of new woodland, restoring 45 hectares of wetland and 30 hectares of peat, re-naturalising 4 km of river, and improving the condition of soils and grasslands.
Nature based solutions have multiple benefits, for communities at risk of flooding, for the environment and for our farming businesses. The project will also support sustainable food production. The team will be working with farmers to co-design the nature-based solutions to allow farming and nature to go hand-in-hand. Land managers covering 11,000Ha have given their support to the project, including three Commons associations.
Using learning from a similar but smaller scale investment-funded Natural Flood Management project in Lancashire, the Resilient Glenderamackin project will blend public and private finance. A blended finance plan will be submitted to DEFRA in June 2025. This plan, in addition to a land management plan, monitoring and evaluation plan, governance plan, access plan and stakeholder engagement plan, will inform DEFRA’s decision on whether to award ~£65 million in funding towards capital and operating costs over the project’s 20-year lifetime.
The Projects4Nature funding will be used towards the capital costs of delivering over 500ha of nature-based solutions in the catchment. The project is appealing to businesses beyond the catchment area to boost the funding already pledged by local businesses towards the project's capital delivery costs.
The project area is connected to other parts of the country and its future resilience is therefore related to activity beyond its boundary. The area is a gateway location to the west of the Lake District National Park, on a main trade and tourist route, it links Keswick with other parts of the country. Keswick itself is a hub for outdoor enthusiasts, home of the Keswick Mountain Festival and many well-known outdoor brands. Manchester’s drinking supply comes from the catchment.
We’re keen to hear from regional and national companies that want to contribute to the UK’s climate resilience through landscape recovery. Companies with an interest in the future resilience of this landscape may include those that promote goods and services for the outdoors; companies in Manchester that want to offset their water use impacts; companies that are concerned about climate change and want to make a lasting positive contribution, and companies that want to support farmers transition to more environmentally sustainable practices.
We welcome hearing from any company interested in our project and we are happy to discuss how an association with the project can support your own objectives.
Our team are a passionate bunch of people who have a proven track record of successfully delivering environmental projects on time and on budget. The project team, made up of staff from West Cumbria Rivers Trust, Nature Finance and the Rivers Trust, have a wealth of experience across project management, environmental delivery, farm liaison, data analysis and financial management.
Greg Nicholson, a farmer near Keswick said:
“[West Cumbria Rivers Trust] are good to work with and I’m looking forward to finding out more about what we can do together to deliver positive work in the catchment that has wider benefits for nature and reducing flood risk, alongside our farm business”.
Vikki Salas, Assistant Director at West Cumbria Rivers Trust said:
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make Keswick and the surrounding landscape more resilient to climate change, securing the future of both the natural environment and the local economy.”