We are Wear Rivers Trust!

Our goal is to protect, improve and help manage the land and water ways of the Wear Catchment, to benefit all who live, work and play in the region.

We focus on improving the environment of our urban and rural communities, using nature based solutions to problems like pollution, flooding and habitat loss.

About us

We raise awareness of the value of the River Wear, including its flora, fauna, social and economic benefits. We help people to understand the need for conservation and restoration, and promote exploration and enjoyment of this precious resource.

Our Work

We work on a range of projects with many different partners throughout the River Wear catchment.

From fish and river fly monitoring to green engineering works, from managing diffuse heavy metal pollution to working with farmers.

We at the Wear Rivers Trust bring a wealth of specialist expertise and also benefit greatly from the knowledge and skills of our partners.

Learn more

Catchment Management

The River Wear has many different industries and land uses throughout its catchment area and as the recipient of rainfall, surface water runoff and groundwater fed springs, its health is often determined by management activities which have taken place above or below ground and sometimes well away from any visible watercourses.

Protecting the health of the river therefore requires an integrated multidisciplinary approach which often involves representatives from many different sectors including local authorities, academia, landowners, water companies, local businesses, communities and recreation clubs.

By focusing on effective partnership working and developing grass roots projects with local communities which work with natural processes rather than against them, the trust has been able to develop and deliver a wide range of projects tackling issues including rural diffuse pollution, mine water pollution, non-native invasive species, urban runoff, flooding, habitat degradation and connectivity, groundwater protection and more.

Community Engagement

The Wear Rivers Trust could not achieve what is has and what it aims to achieve in the future without the assistance of its dedicated network of volunteers. Volunteers bring a diverse range of skills and experience to our organisation, helping us to deliver conservation objectives that would be unachievable without them. We offer a variety of volunteer roles for both individuals and groups. You don’t have to know anything about rivers, fish or wildlife to volunteer with us; all we ask is that you share our goal of wanting to improve and conserve the River Wear catchment.

Engaging with communities is essential for achieving and sustaining improvements to watercourses within the Wear catchment. We always aim to involve the community in every watercourse improvement we undertake, instilling a sense of pride and ownership in a watercourse within the local community is the only truly sustainable way to achieve long term improvements for a watercourse. Bringing the community together to focus on making local watercourses better places for all to enjoy is vital to ensure a continuing legacy of care and improvement for them.

Enforcement Undertakings

What are enforcement undertakings?

Rivers face many challenges, including pollution incidents for which large organisations are deemed responsible. Enforcement Undertakings are a way for organisations that have caused such occurrences to proactively address the issue they have caused, either in the exact place of the incident or in the case of rivers on the same catchment.

They do this by finding an appropriate body to carry out the work, through the Environment Agency as part of the agency’s civil sanctions procedures.

The polluter must fund a charity, such as Wear Rivers Trust, to deliver an environmental project – ideally this should correct or offset the damage caused.

The advantage of Enforcement Undertakings is that they encourage better environmental practice without government intervention. This allows well-meaning businesses to quickly remedy damage and avoid prosecution – a long and costly process for all, which if successful puts money into government accounts instead of delivering environmental improvement.

How Enforcement Undertakings Work

When a business finds that it has breached an environmental law, it can contact the Environment Agency and offer an Enforcement Undertaking. The offer will include actions that the business will commit to, which must ensure two things: the same laws are not broken in the future, and any environmental damage caused will be completely offset or repaired.

Early applications after the incident in question are more likely to result in the EA accepting the process of Enforcement Undertakings.

The legal framework for Enforcement Undertakings can be found in the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008.

What Wear Rivers Trust can offer

Wear Rivers Trust has vast experience working with communities to deliver river improvements and getting residents to take an active part in looking after rivers, which face many issues including pollution.

We value rivers and waterways as vital resources for wildlife as well as spaces for people to enjoy.

Wear Rivers Trust can help polluters understand their impact and design projects that fully compensate and deliver an improved environment. Additionally, we can advise the polluter how they can develop strategies to prevent future incidents from occurring.

We have extensive experience of carrying out river improvements, by working with communities to deliver wetlands and SuDS (rainscapes) as well as installing reedbeds. If you would like to learn more about how we can help deliver an Enforcement Undertaking please contact our Program Manager, Paul Atkinson.