News
Project Update: June 2025
We’re working hard behind the scenes to help communities across West and North Northamptonshire become more flood resilient – in so many different ways.
Here’s a brief snapshot of just some of the projects we’ve been working on across Harpers Brook and Wootton Brook over recent months:
🌳 Tree Planting Projects:
Our tree-planting drives have seen over 2,000 trees and hedgerow whips planted across the RAIN catchments! These trees play a key role in managing flood risk and boosting biodiversity – and it’s been fantastic seeing people from across the area enjoying the new trees in their open green spaces.
🏡 Rain Gardens in Bloom!
Our #JustASmallPlot RAIN Garden campaign has been well received. Residents have been creating their own RAIN gardens to reduce surface water runoff in wet weather and the pressure on our local drainage systems. Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far – another campaign will launch in the Autumn 🌼
📚 RAIN in Schools:
From tractors in playgrounds as part of Farmer Appreciation Week to our sand table workshops teaching local students about floods, farming, and future resilience – we’ve been enjoying involving children from across the catchments in our work. PLUS, we have an exciting project about to launch in seven schools – the details of which will be announced later this month! Education + action = long-term change!
🏘️ PFR Installations Moving Forward
Having appointed contractors, Watertight International, they are progressing the next stage of the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) programme. They are contacting all participating homeowners to arrange diary dates for their first visit, which will enable them to capture the specific measurements for everyone’s required PFR measures, with installations following. In addition, Watertight are currently installing PFR measures at the Harpers Court housing scheme in Brigstock, with work underway as we speak. Updates to follow.
🤝 Northants’ Nature Resilience Fund
We’re currently developing a new scheme that invites local businesses to match-fund natural flood management and resilience projects in their communities. The scheme offers a meaningful way to give back locally, while also providing benefits for staff, for example including volunteering opportunities on live nature-based resilience projects or the chance for staff to take part in wellbeing activities – such as ‘forest bathing’ sessions in local woodlands. Full details will be announced soon, with outreach to local businesses planned over the coming months.
🌳 New NFM Sites Coming Soon
This summer, we’re working on multiple Natural Flood Management projects across our catchments, including reinstating a wetland, re-wiggling a river to help slow the flow, tree planting, and the creation of bunds to better hold and slow down water during storms. We also have a fantastic multi-agency project taking place in forestry and woodlands across Northants, which uses methods like ‘tree hinging’ and ‘gully stuffing’ to slow water flow (also known as ‘beaver mimicking!’) – watch this space for individual project updates!
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The RAIN Project is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.
#FCRIP
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