Highways England Natural Flood Management Fund
Organisation: Highways England
Location: England (North West & North East)
Link: Visit Website
Welcome to the Highways England Natural Flood Management Fund
The Fund has been set up to support farmers and landowners in the implementation of measures that work with natural processes to reduce flood risk to the major road network (‘A’ roads and motorways). The Fund is being piloted in parts of the Little Don, River Etherow and River Irwell catchments. In total five focus areas are being piloted in the catchments.
What is Natural Flood Management?
Natural Flood Management (NFM) is an emerging approach to addressing flood risk. NFM measures slow or store water in the landscape by emulating or enhancing natural processes.
Every landowner is likely to be able to contribute to natural flood risk management, irrespective of location within the catchment, and therefore can play an important role in reducing flooding in downstream areas.
The diagram shows some of the example measures available through the Highways England NFM Fund.
- LM01.1 – Vegetated buffer strips
- LM01.2 – Cross-slope woodland & hedgerows
- LM02.1 – Reducing soil compaction
- LM02.2 – Mixed species herbal ley
- LM02.3 – Cover crops
- FR01.1 – Overland leaky barrier
- FR01.2 – Flow pathway bund
8. FR02.1 – Offline storage pond
9. FR02.2 – Online storage pond
10. FR02.3 – Swales
11. WC01.1 – In-channel leaky barriers
12. WC01.2 – Headwater woody bundles
13. WC01.3 – Moorland grip and gully blocking
About the fund
The Fund is being financed by Highways England, as part of £936M of designated funding made available over the next five years to deliver lasting benefits to the environment and communities. It is a pilot to explore how Highways England can work with farmers and landowners to reduce flood risk on sections of the strategic road network known to be particularly vulnerable to flooding.
The Fund is hosted by the Mersey Rivers Trust (Irwell and Etherow) and Don Catchment River Trust (Little Don), with support provided by Atkins Limited. The Fund Handbook provides all the information needed to plan, bid for and implement NFM measures. Should you decide to make an application to the NFM Fund, you can bid through the Application Page to the Fund.
Eligible areas
During the pilot phase, the Fund will only be available for focus areas that have been identified within the Little Don, River Etherow and River Irwell catchments. You can view the eligible areas using the map below.
☐ Pilot catchments ▨ Focus areas
How to apply and find out more
Explore the documents and links below to find out more about the fund and how you can apply.
Application Page to the Fund
Go to the Highways England bidding platform.
NFM Fund Handbook
Providing a summary of the entire Fund process.
NFM Measures Booklet
Giving an overview of the measures that can be implemented.
Design Specification Catalogue
Detailing how to design, implement and maintain measures.
Step by step guide
Find out how to make an application.
Terms and Conditions
Read the terms and conditions of the Fund.
NFM Fund helpline
If you need any assistance preparing or making an application to the NFM Fund, please contact your local Catchment Advisor. See Handbook for more details. Alternatively you can contact the NFM Fund Helpline by telephone (01332 225 901) or email (NFMadvice@atkinsglobal.com).
