Wildlife on a Lincolnshire river is being given a helping hand, thanks to a project undertaken by the Environment Agency and the Welland Rivers Trust.

Sixty five years ago the River Welland was windy and tidal between Spalding and Market Deeping, with surplus flood water overflowing into Cowbit Wash. 1947 was a very cold winter with a lot of snow that didn’t melt until March. The melt was hastened by heavy rain which resulted in Cowbit Wash being filled to the brim, the bank burst and land was flooded for several miles east of Crowland.  

Spalding was the bottleneck as the river was  far too narrow at this point, which resulted in a scheme for the river to by-pass Spalding, widened and straightened all the way to Market Deeping. Tidal doors were constructed, which in effect made the Welland a wide canal all the way from Spalding to Market Deeping.

Recently, The Welland Rivers Trust were advised that the Environment Agency were planning to make a fish refuge at a point half way between Spalding and Market Deeping, the chosen site being at Four Mile Bar, where there is a wide but fairly low birm to the river and it is not grazed.

A fish refuge is a pond off the main river with one entrance, so that it is away from the flow of the river and offers fish shelter in times of flood. When told of the project, people often ask, 'How will the fish know where it is?' The answer is quite simple, just as you and I know where the lay-bys, the pubs and other features are in our districts, so the fish know where to hide in difficult times in their area.

In addition to the main refuge, two other inlets have been built, which will be habitat for plants, insects, fish and birds. 

Work on the refuge, located on the left bank of the River Welland, near to Four Mile Bar, near Market Deeping. has now been almost completed and will provide eels and juvenile fish with shelter during high flows as well as providing valuable spawning and nursery areas.

Hugh Bunker, of the Environment Agency’s Fisheries, Recreation and Biodiversity team, said: “Within heavily managed systems such as the River Welland, areas of slack or still water connected to the main channel are rare. These still water habitats are important areas, especially for eels and juvenile fish. “Fish and eels can often be swept downstream away from their normal habitat during periods of high flows and flood. We are therefore providing areas to allow the creatures to take refuge during difficult river conditions.”But it is not only fish that will benefit from the works, which are costing £27,000 and being funded by sales of rod licences.

Hugh said: “The Four Mile Bar refuge is also designed to provide valuable habitat for wading birds and other important local wildlife. “As part of this development, a complex of shallow pools will be connected to the River Welland. These will fill at certain times of the year to provide access for small fish species and invertebrates.  “Over time, these shallows will attract marginal vegetation, creating a diverse aquatic and terrestrial habitat for a range of plants and animals.”

A five-metre-wide channel will connect the refuge to the river and the shallow pools will be situated in an area approximately 100 metres long by 12 metres wide. The design of the refuge was created by the Welland Rivers Trust following consultation with The Association of Rivers Trusts.

The work is being carried out by the Environment Agency’s Operations Delivery team. Excavated material will be used to maintain flood defence banks and raise lower-level grazing land in the area.

Once the final touches have been put to the new site, which will include interpretive information panels for visitors, the Environment Agency hope to find another site somewhere along the Welland, where a second refuge can be constructed.