Farmers paid to help protect infrastructure from flooding

The Evenlode Landscape Recovery scheme, covering parts of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, is one of the UK’s first large-scale projects to move from planning into full delivery.

More than 3,000 hectares of land across the region will be restored under the scheme, which aims to tackle flooding at its source by improving soil health, restoring floodplains and increasing the landscape’s capacity to hold water.

The scheme is delivered partly by the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster (NECFC) and forms part of a £100 million funding package that has been secured with Natural England and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Initial investments from infrastructure owners like Network Rail, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), and Oxfordshire County Council over the next three years is expected to be in excess of £3,000,000.

Natural flood management methods are being introduced to slow and store water higher up in the catchment.

Tim Field, executive director of Evenlode Landscape Recovery, said: “This partnership marks a new chapter in how we think about flood prevention and asset protection. 

Drone footage from the catchment of reconnecting floodplains (Image: Supplied)

“By working with Network Rail, SSEN and Oxfordshire County Council we’re supporting infrastructure resilience with practical changes on the ground. 

“Farmers are uniquely placed to manage water at source. 

“By restoring habitats and improving soil structure across the catchment, we can reduce flood risk downstream while strengthening farm businesses for the long term.”

The scheme pays farmers to create wetlands, woodlands and meadows on less productive or flood-prone land.

This benefits nature, improves resilience and helps protect infrastructure from flood damage.

Ryan Barrett, weather resilience and climate adaptation programme manager at Network Rail, said: “In this area the railway crosses the Evenlode River 27 times, creating multiple pinch points where flooding can disrupt services. 

“Investing in natural flood management gives us an opportunity to reduce risk before it reaches the railway and we are looking forward to working with ELR on our key risk areas to make the railway line more resilient now and into the future.”

Chris Bratt, director of asset management at SSEN, said: “We have critical electricity infrastructure in the Evenlode catchment, including substations that must remain operational during extreme weather. 

“By investing in nature-based solutions upstream, we can reduce long-term flood risk to these assets. 

“This proactive approach strengthens network resilience and, over time, helps avoid costs that would otherwise eventually end up being passed on to customers.”

The work will be carried out by specialist contractors and local farmers, who will be paid to maintain the changes for at least 20 years under a blended finance model.