Water Vole Habitat Design on the River Idle

Last year, FiveRivers supported Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (NWT) with their mission to provide targeted habitat improvements for Water Voles, the UK’s fastest declining mammal. Thanks to funding from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme our team at FiveRivers was proud to deliver the detailed designs of a large-scale habitat creation project on the River Idle at Gamston, Retford, as part of the Water Vole Recovery Project.

Over 10 hectares of high-quality water vole habitat was designed, including nine new ponds with a total excavated area of around 10,000 square metres and depths of up to 1.5 metres. Around 760 metres of new ditches and side channels were also established, connecting the site to the river at both ends and supporting natural movement and dispersal. In addition, existing reedbed areas were extended by excavating to 0.5 metres with a deeper channel, and new bunds and islands were formed to provide ideal burrowing and refuge habitat for the species.

The design phase was finalised in autumn 2024, with construction successfully completed in early 2025. Since completion several surveys have been undertaken which found water scorpions, dragonflies, damselflies, waterboatmen, diving beetles, and an incredible abundance of mayflies. The nearest known water vole populations are approximately 10km downstream and 15km upstream of the site, so it is anticipated that they will colonise the project area in the next years five years or so. NWT are going to continue to monitor the site for the next five years gathering invaluable post-construction data.

This project is an exciting step forward for the recovery of one of the UK’s most threatened mammals and demonstrates what can be achieved through a collaborative approach to habitat creation.

Get in touch with the team today to discuss your design requirements.