Nature-rich river corridors restore waterways and protect communities

Help restore rivers

We’re calling on the UK government to make #SpaceForWater by urgently supporting farmers and landowners to create and maintain a network of nature-rich river corridors.

Thank you for helping us reach 10,000 signatures on our petition in December 2025. You can read the Government’s formal response to our asks here.

The Government has a significant opportunity this year to ensure the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes deliver for farmers restoring rivers.

We propose that the Government can achieve this through three key actions:

Publish a River Corridor Restoration Plan - to create a network of connected, nature-rich, multifunctional river corridors, including river buffers, riparian tree planting and wetland initiatives all delivered at scale, making space for water

Develop River Corridor Bundle payments - develop targeted and simplified financial incentives for farmers and landowners to restore and enhance river corridors, including River Corridor Bundle payments for river buffers, wetlands and riparian tree planting.

Support the development of ‘a King’s Chain’ - a simple and compelling mechanism outlining how the vision of wildlife corridors will be delivered across the nation.

Why do we need to make #SpaceforWater?

We need change. Our heavily modified rivers aren’t fit for purpose and can’t keep pace with our changing climate. The UK faces a growing water scarcity crisis, and our rivers are some of the unhealthiest in Europe - only a third of river stretches are in good ecological health. Biodiversity is declining, and species once thriving in our rivers, such as Atlantic salmon, are on the brink of collapse.

Making space for water and restoring our waterways allows rivers to function as they naturally should, helping us address many of these challenges:

Restore nature
with connected corridors that support wildlife

Healthy, wild land alongside a river provides vital refuge and movement highway for many birds, insects, and mammals. Nature-rich corridors can help us meet ambitious biodiversity targets.

Protect communities
from flooding and drought

When rivers are connected to their floodplains and have space to store water as they naturally should, they can dramatically reduce downstream flooding and help slowly recharge groundwater supplies.

Improve water quality by cleaning up rivers

River corridors with vegetation buffers can stop some pollution from land from reaching waterways, and natural features like wetlands and wiggles help slow the flow, filtering out pollutants in the water.

Holding water on the land helps farmland adapt to a changing climate, and being paid to do so with new, impactful payments for making space for water could support farm businesses as they adapt too.

Boost climate resilience and support farmers

Our letter to the Prime Minister

25 MPs signed a letter to the Prime Minister, which we delivered directly to No.10 on 15th October 2025.

Our rivers are in crisis – polluted, overheated, and stripped of their natural features. The letter calls on the Westminster Government to urgently support a network of nature-rich river corridors across England to address this.

“The greatest threat to the profitability of our farm over the coming decade will be water stress – too much water at times, too little at others. After the driest spring we can remember, it is clear that the old approach of getting water off the land as quickly as possible no longer works. If we do not act now we will see further loss of top-soil and increased risk of crop failures.
That means finding more space for storing water on the farm, slowing water-flow off the farm, and increasing infiltration to hold more water in the sub-soil—restoring our farm ponds and wet field corners, re-planning drainage, creating riparian buffers to intercept run-off, and planting crops and trees that can access deeper water stores.”

Helen and Richard Allan
Whaddon Grove Farm, West Wiltshire

How can we achieve this?

Allowing space around rivers will unlock the ability to deliver a wider range of spatially targeted, proven, cost-effective nature-based interventions that benefit both people and wildlife.

We can Make Space for Water, and enhance our river corridors by creating and restoring:

River buffers
Riparian trees and woodlands
Wetlands
Floodplain meadows
River wiggling and naturalisation
Beaver populations

Learn more

“Nature knows how to look after itself if we let it! The Making Space for Water campaign will return diversity and beauty to a whole swath of rivers in the UK, and prevent species loss and future floods.”

Dr Imogen Grant MBE, Team GB Rower and Olympic Champion

Case studies

Meet the people making #SpaceForWater

Featured

Creating buffers, reducing run-off and boosting biodiversity on a dairy farm

High Oaks Farm is a family dairy farm in Cumbria. Using nature-based solutions (including river buffers and sediment ponds), it reduced nutrient run-off into the River Petteril.

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Riparian vegetation keeps water cool—a lifeline for salmon in a changing climate

Monitoring showed riparian shade massively reduces water temperatures. Without shade, temperatures reached levels that threatened fish survival.

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Moving from drainage to a sponge habitat

River Aller, Selworthy Farm on the Holnicote Estate, Somerset

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River buffers boost Upper Conwy’s climate resilience

The dramatic terrain of Upper Conwy in the north of Eryri may look resilient and rugged but it's very vulnerable to climate change. Urgent action has been required to slow the flow of water from the mountains into the rivers, to protect communities and keep the landscape special for future generations.

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Letting nature lead: Beavers building climate resilience

Clinton Devon Estate manages large areas of farmland, woodland and river corridors - including parts of the River Otter catchment. In recent years, sections of the estate have become home to a holistic natural flood management (NFM) approach: beavers.

Read more →

Explore case studies

Parliamentary Launch Event

In June, the Riverscapes Partnership (The Rivers Trust, National Trust, The Woodland Trust and Beaver Trust) hosted a launch event at the Houses of Parliament for the Making Space for Water campaign. Minister Emma Hardy MP gave the keynote address, and the event was hosted by Lloyd Hatton MP. Watch the highlights below:

Join us in supporting

Making Space for Water

"Rivers provide an ideal opportunity to create a nature-rich network of trees, floodplain meadows and wetlands that could connect our entire landscape. Supporting farmers and landowners to Make Space for Water at scale will unlock myriad benefits by slowing flood water, cooling over-heated streams, preventing pollution, reducing greenhouse gases and cleaning waterways."

Mark Lloyd, CEO, The Rivers Trust
"We know farmers and landowners looking after the environment are protecting their businesses, but we need a financial and regulatory system that helps them. As a leading conservation charity, we will continue to work with farmers and landowners to make their land more resilient, but more financial investment is needed for these vital, generational improvements."

Darren Moorcroft, CEO, Woodland Trust
"Our vision is for thriving waterways, vibrant with life, and this will only be possible if we give nature and water more space in our landscapes, supporting land managers to do so. There is a clear need for strong financial incentives for practices to be adapted on a wider scale. It has never been more urgent to build environmental resilience across Britain and I hope many people will add their voice in support."

Sandra King, CEO, Beaver Trust
"Our rivers are at the frontline of climate change with floods and droughts challenging us to think about how we look after them and secure the benefits we get from them. It’s time to change our relationship with our rivers, giving them much needed space to move, adapt and help us deal with these threats. Rivers that can respond to changing rainfall and better connect to their floodplains are better for wildlife and for people."

Stewart Clarke, National Trust
"Rivers are not just recreational spaces we know and love, but homes for species that are in desperate need of our support. At UK Youth for Nature, we’re battling to have the voices of our rivers heard, taken seriously, and acted upon - and are supporting this campaign. We are nature, and it’s time we prioritise repair and protection rather than simply extraction. It is time to Make Space for Water, not just for nature’s future, but for our own."

Roisin Taylor, UK Youth for Nature
"While it is essential that the Government tackles rampant pollution from the water industry and industrial agriculture, we urgently need positive systemic solutions to work in tandem that incentivise the transition to river-friendly land management and farming. Making Space for Water will help breathe life back into our river catchments, simultaneously restoring the living arteries of our country and helping farmers secure income and habitats for their allies in nature."

James Wallace, CEO River Action UK.
“There are few things more enjoyable than journeying along a river, seeing a kingfisher dart between the trees and wondering what could be around the next corner. Rivers that are healthy, clean and rich in nature, are good for wildlife and people. Making Space for Water shows that rivers can be re-naturalised and restored for nature, and play a part in futureproofing society against the impacts of climate change and pollution”.

Ben Seal, Head of Access and Environment, PaddleUK
"The damage to land, livestock and livelihoods will only increase as extreme weather gets more frequent and severe. By moving our cows and farming away from riverbanks and creating space for rivers to move, we have improved our flood resilience, created new corridors for wildlife, and connected up existing habitats, all while maintaining our dairy production - but farmers need more funding options for work like this."

Joe Lyall, Dairy Farmer & Nuffield Farming Next-Gen Dairy Scholar
“Restoring rivers isn’t just about wildlife, it’s about fairness. Every community deserves access to clean, vibrant waterways. Making space for water is an investment in people, nature and our future. We must act now to build a better world for the next generation.”

Dr Mya-Rose Craig