Use this page to find out more about the Chew Valley Reconnected Partnership Project.
The Chew Valley Reconnected project area includes areas within the Mendip Hills National Landscape and extends to Keynsham.
The area has important networks of natural and semi-natural areas including Chew Valley Lake, important grassland sites and hedgerows in the upper catchment of the River Chew. These spaces provide crucial habitats and wildlife corridors for priority species including:
- swifts
- swallows
- house martins
- greater and lesser horseshoe bats
Project aims
The Chew Valley Reconnected project aims to strengthen our existing Nature Recovery Network by connecting existing habitats. It is also an opportunity to improve water quality and management.
The project has the potential to support nature's recovery and deliver wider social and economic benefits, including improvements to human health and providing climate mitigation and resilience measures.
Project location
Use the following map to view the Chew Valley Reconnected Partnership Project boundary:
Further information
The Chew Valley Reconnected project partnership has been established to coordinate a programme of partner projects. Its members represent natural environment and community interests in the Chew Valley.
The Chew Valley Reconnected Partnership, led by us, will co-develop the Chew Valley Delivery Programme for the Chew catchment to further expand the current partnership programme of work, focusing on water and environmental resilience and delivering health and wellbeing benefits for local communities. Various funding mechanisms will be required to enable the development of delivery of interventions over the next five years.
Having completed the northern section of the Chew Valley Lake recreational trail in 2022, we will continue to explore with Bristol Water options for improving recreational access to the lake and delivering nature recovery improvements for local communities.
We are working in partnership to explore options for a Keynsham Memorial Park (KMP) project to increase peoples access to nature, celebrate the heritage, and improve biodiversity through river restoration and enabling fish passage. The KMP River and Weir Improvement Project will utilise relevant data and evidence and undertake consultation with local groups and residents to develop the project to meet these aims.