Hills to Levels delivery up to September 2016

The farms that have received advisory visits under Hills to Levels.
© Crown Copyright and database right. Ordnance Survey 100038382. Environment Agency copyright and/or database rights 2017. Contains OS open data. All rights reserved.

 

Natural Flood Management schemes complete, in progress and proposed.
© Crown Copyright and database right. Ordnance Survey 100038382. Environment Agency copyright and/or database rights 2017. Contains OS open data. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

How Hills to Levels has developed over time

Hills to Levels first started as a distinct project in catchments draining to the Somerset Levels. This project was delivered by a partnership of the Bath and West Society, Somerset Wildlife Trust, RSPB and FWAG SW, and was funded by Players of the Peoples’ Postcode Lottery (01/03/2015) (http://www.hillstolevels.co.uk/).

The devastating 2013/14 winter floods launched a partnership of local and national organisations, co-ordinated by the Somerset County Council, which developed the 20 Year Flood Action Plan. This plan recognised that reducing runoff and sediment delivery from the upper and mid catchment has a benefit on localised flooding and flooding in the lowlands. Therefore, land management in the upper catchment was added as a workstream to the 20 Year Flood Action Plan, alongside dredging, river management, the management of urban run-off and increasing resilience in local communities and infrastructure. The original aims were:

• Working in the upper catchment to ‘slow the flow’ of water from the hills to the Somerset Levels and Moors
• Working in the lower catchment to reduce the impact of flooding on the Levels and Moors
• Working to establish a Community Land Trust
• Working with local communities

Key objective of the Somerset Flood Action Plan was to broaden the scope of Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) to include flood risk as well as water quality. The Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer for the Tone ane Parrett, Roy Hayes, was seconded to the Hills to Levels project for 2 years.

 

Since then, ‘Hills to Levels’ has merged into an umbrella approach, which hosts several sub-projects. It now delivers across all catchment in Somerset and has added multiple environmental benefits to its remit.

 

Questions & queries

If you have any questions regarding Hills to Levels, please contact FWAG SouthWest by emailing [email protected] or call 01823 660684.

Click here to go back to the Hills to Levels homepage to learn more about an aspect of the project.