Ashton Vale Flood Zone
The low-lying area prone to flooding between the A370, Bristol to Taunton Railway Line and Ashton Vale provides an excellent opportunity to work with nature to create an accessible area of wetland close to Bristol, which could be a haven for both wildlife and people.
Priorities for nature recovery
Delivering the priorities for nature recovery is particularly important in the mapped Focus Areas for Nature Recovery. ‘Landscape recovery’ measures, which will have the biggest impact on nature recovery, are particularly relevant in these Focus Areas.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Manage existing wetland habitats to maintain/improve their value to wildlife. Management techniques will depend on the type of wetland habitat present | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
More rivers and streams have natural courses and profiles, enable free passage of fish, and have more diverse in-river habitat, including spawning habitat in headwater streams.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Re-naturalisation of rivers to their original form or reprofiling of the river to create a more ‘natural’ profile. This could include restoring meanders, removing or setting back flood banks, and/or reconnecting old side channels. | Farmers and landowners | River | Landscape recovery |
| Introduce habitat features such as berms and flow deflectors in rivers to create more habitat diversity. This is particularly useful in river channels that are relatively uniform or highly managed | Farmers and landowners | River | N/A |
| Install natural structures such as leaky dams and let fallen trees in rivers remain in-situ (where appropriate and where the flood risk has been properly assessed) | Farmers and landowners | River | N/A |
| Restore headwater streams to enhance spawning habitat such as river gravels for salmonids, and instream water weeds and substrates for coarse fish egg laying | Farmers and landowners | River | N/A |
| Remove barriers to fish passage, including weirs and culverts, where this is possible, and the retrofitting of structures to include fish passes and mammal ledges where removal is not possible | Local government Farmers and landowners |
River | N/A |
More rivers are reconnected to their floodplains and floodplain wetlands are created to allow natural erosion and silt deposition within the floodplain, especially where this would provide benefits to flood management.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Reconnection of rivers to their floodplain, allowing floodwater to spill naturally onto adjacent land, and restoration of wetland habitat within the floodplain | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Create or improve management of floodplain grazing marsh or floodplain meadows, including permitting seasonal flooding | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
Relevant priority species
- House Martin
- Swallow
- Water Vole
- Lapwing