About Us

Who we are

The West Cumbria Catchment Partnership, led by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, brings together local people and organisations to work collectively towards our vision of:

Healthy and sustainable water environments that benefit people, the economy and wildlife, and are valued by all.

Partners

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Communities in the Derwent catchment are represented by an elected community representative. We’re looking for community representatives from the Waver-Wampool and West-coast areas. If you, your organisation or community group would like to get involved, please contact us.

Join our Partnership and have your say

What we do

The Catchment Partnerships works closely with local communities and land managers to:

  • Collaboratively prioritise, plan and deliver actions
  • Share information and expertise
  • Ensure coordination of project delivery and funding sources
  • Champion nature based solutions that provide multiple benefits

Our approach means the work delivered by our partners achieves greater benefits for every pound spent towards our vision.

Our objectives

Clean Water

Improve and maintain water quality across rivers, lakes and estuaries by reducing rural and urban pollution.

Resilience to floods and droughts

Reduce risk of negative effects of floods and droughts using sustainable methods.

Habitats and species

Provide high quality, diverse and connected habitats that support a wide range of wildlife including good fish stocks and protected species, and manage the threat of invasive species.

Natural channels

Reduce the impacts of man-made modifications to river systems and allow rivers to function as naturally as possible.

Enjoying water

Ensure people value their rivers and have the opportunity to access, enjoy and learn about them.

Sustainable water use

Ensure water environments provide for recreation, water suppliers, businesses and agriculture in a way that will allow rivers to thrive for years to come.

Evidence

Develop a robust evidence base through ongoing monitoring and knowledge sharing. Ensure all action is underpinned by sound data.

Background

The national Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) was introduced by Government to encourage organisations and communities to work together to help identify, understand and tackle the issues.

The West Cumbria Catchment Partnership was set up in 2015, hosted by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, to bring together a wide range of people with an interest in improving the rivers and lakes of West Cumbria.

The 2015 winter floods brought flood risk to the forefront of our agenda. The West Cumbria Catchment Management Group was established as part of the Cumbria Strategic Flood Partnership, to bring together partners with an interest in, or responsibility for, reducing flood risk in West Cumbria.

In practice, the Catchment Management Group integrated into the existing Catchment Partnership, bringing a wider range of stakeholders together, including community flood action groups and flood risk authorities.  Having an integrated approach to flood risk and environmental outcomes across a whole catchment gets better outcomes for every pound spent, for people and the environment. Our catchment planning is supported and part funded under the Natural Course project as part of the European Life programme.

Collaborative working takes time and effort and is not easy to fund. We are always looking for further funding to continue and improve our Catchment Partnership working.

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