Natural Course

What is Natural Course?

Natural Course was a significant project that aimed to understand and overcome the barriers to achieving “good ecological status” under the EU Water Framework Directive across the Northwest England River Basin District.

It was the only EU LIFE Integrated Project in the UK, running for over eight years before concluding on 31st March 2024. The project brought together public bodies, the Environment Agency and Natural England, local government, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Salford City Council, the private sector, United Utilities, and the network of River Trusts across Northwest England to work on over 50 actions in more than 100 waterbodies to achieve:

• 226km of enhanced watercourse
• 433Ha of habitat restored or enhanced
• 105 green infrastructure interventions
• 175 significant water management issues addressed
• 41 wildlife surveys

Visit the Natural Course project page for further information, tools and resources from the project.