River project may hook £1.7m

An angling project in Newark and habitat creation at Besthorpe Nature Reserve could be part of a £2.7m Trent Valley scheme.

The Trent Vale Landscape Partnership has applied for £1.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the scheme to rebuild community links and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage along the River Trent between Newark and West Stockwith.

The partnership will find out in September if it will receive the money. If it does, the projects would be implemented from January.

The angling project would be at Devon Park, Newark. It would include training courses and a schools programme to get more young people involved in the sport.

At Besthorpe Nature Reserve, reed beds would be created to provide new habitats.

Visitors’ access would be improved, and hides and viewing platforms and a children’s pond dipping area would be installed.

The money would also be used for small grant schemes for community and farm projects, opportunities for hundreds of people to get involved in arts, heritage and environment projects, and more than 50 new angling pegs.

A Trent Vale Festival would be organised.

The Trent Vale Landscape Partnership is led by British Waterways and includes councils, the Environment Agency and the RSPB.

The partnership was instigated by the OnTrent Initiative about three years ago to develop the stretch of the Trent River Valley from Newark to Gainsborough.

Trent Vale project manager Mr Rob Fitzsimons said: “We are all hopeful that within the near future we will be able to follow Trent Vale heritage trails, visit Trent Vale festival events, read the guide to Trent Vale and get involved in the hundreds of volunteering opportunities that will be made available.”