Cash for River Peffery restoration project which could reduce Dingwall flood risk
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A project to help restore the River Peffery and help reduce flood risk to the town of Dingwall has been awarded funding from the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.
The River Peffery Catchment Project has been awarded development phase funding to identify options to enhance and restore habitats along the full length of the river from the slopes of Ben Wyvis right down to the centre of Dingwall.
The project builds on the success of the Peffery re-meandering project at Fodderty which was completed in 2022.
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Letting off steam on the long-awaited Peffery Way
It aims to bring together river restoration, riparian planting, peatland restoration, urban wildlife projects and other land management enhancements within the whole catchment.
Managed by NatureScot, the Scottish Government’s £65 million Nature Restoration Fund supports projects that help Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of local communities. These projects take practical steps to help against the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and restore Scotland’s natural environment.
Richard Lockett of Lockett Agri-Environmental said: “We were delighted to be awarded this funding. The re-meandering work we did last year was a major project but as soon as we completed it, we started to think about what other work could be done to improve biodiversity and reduce flood risk in the Peffery catchment. Working with the landowners, we are aiming to produce a set of fully scoped project plans for different parts of what we hope will become a landscape scale restoration.”
Richard added that he is keen to hear from anyone in the catchment with ideas for projects: “We’re keen to talk to as many land managers as we can. We’re also talking to schools, community groups, the local council, and government agencies to build as much of a comprehensive package of ideas as we can.”
Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said: “Our Nature Restoration Fund is making a difference across the length and breadth of Scotland, restoring our incredible natural environment, helping wildlife thrive, and investing in rural communities. Scotland’s nature is so important to all of us – our woodlands, peatlands, rivers and lochs are central to our cultural heritage and identity.
"But this complex diversity and abundance of life is also central to our survival as a species. Our economy, jobs, health and wellbeing depend on it. Nature-based solutions – restoring our peatlands and native forests for example - are also key to our success in tackling the climate crisis.
“Following the agreement of new global targets to end extinctions and restore nature, we have published our new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, setting out our high-level ambition for a nature positive future in Scotland by 2030.
"This year we will follow it with a new Delivery Plan setting out how we will achieve our stretching goals, including protecting 30 per cent of our land and seas for nature by 2030. Our world leading Nature Restoration Fund will help us achieve that goal by delivering real, transformative change across the country.”
Chair of NatureScot Mike Cantlay said: “Large-scale nature restoration projects are vital to help us tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. If we are to have any chance of saving nature, then we must do everything we can to halt its decline now.
“The Nature Restoration Fund supports ambitious action to put Scotland’s land and seas, and all the wild species that inhabit them, back on the road to recovery. It is project like this one that will make a real and positive difference and we’re excited to see how it progresses.
With the Nature Restoration Fund, we are helping Scotland to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and reverse it by 2045.”
Since its launch in July 2021, the Nature Restoration Fund has awarded £17 million to 127 projects across Scotland through its Helping Nature and Transforming Nature funding streams.
