Background
The Darent Nature Partnership manages more than 6,000 hectares of the Upper/Middle River Darent catchment.
Located on the edge of London, in the Kent Downs National Landscape, we are undertaking to restore 35km of this rare chalk stream and the diverse habitats of the Darent Valley.
The Darent Landscape
This varied and precious landscape comprises chalk downland, a rare chalk stream, floodplain grassland and wetland, woodland and mixed agriculture. Despite this, the Darent Valley landscape is a survival story. It is situated on the doorstep of London, within 17 miles of Big Ben, with a population of 1.3 million living within 10km, and bisected by the UK’s busiest motorway. This area of outstanding natural beauty, has historically been and is today under huge pressure from people and its proximity to London.
The History of the River
The River Darent, a globally rare chalk stream, defines our landscape. It played a fundamental role in attracting original human settlement, creating fertile farmland, providing transport into London, and generating power for mills and other industry.
It also shaped the land, rising from springs on the Greensand Ridge, then flowing eastwards from Westerham, carving through the chalk at the base of the scarp slope of the North Downs, then northwards from Sevenoaks, eventually flowing into the Thames north of Dartford.
Pre-1900 the Darent was considered one of England’s finest trout rivers; revered for its bountiful supply of fish.
It is still a popular fishing river but has been increasingly affected by human activity.
Over-abstraction has impacted negatively, especially during drought periods, common in the South-East of England.
The wider resilience of the local landscape has also been affected by development and agricultural activity.
A once rich network of gill streams, ditches, and ponds has been re-engineered, meanders straightened, and traditional wood pasture and meadows replaced by more modern agriculture.
Restoring the Darent
Since 2013, the Upper and Middle Darent has repeatedly failed to achieve a ‘Good’ status under the Water Framework Directive. The associated ‘Reasons for Not Achieving Good’ include diffuse pollution (livestock and soil management), physical modification (impoundments and barriers – ecological discontinuity) and flow, due to groundwater abstraction – all of which negatively impact nature. The Upper Darent also encounters frequent major flood events.
We want to address this trend, working in partnership to restore the Darent Valley as a healthy, sustainable and accessible environment.
Adopting a nature-based solutions approach, the project will deliver huge benefits:
- To the river - reconnecting it with its floodplain, restoring its natural functions and passage for fish and other species.
- To the environment - creating more space for wildlife, boosting biodiversity and supporting recovery of key species.
- To water capture and quality - improving resilience to drought and flooding.
- To our community - in better public access and opportunities to connect more with nature.
- And we will help to meet our national climate change and environmental goals.