Lamport Hall and Gardens lie in the heart of a traditional farming estate located in the rolling Northamptonshire countryside. The estate comprises two villages, Lamport and Hanging Houghton, and features ten acres of tranquil gardens and parklands. This hidden gem regularly welcomes a large number of visitors to its grounds and has long been a treasured community attraction.
As part of a new Higher-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme, the land was set to see a wide range of new conservation projects including the creation of new woodlands and water bodies, two natural flood management programmes, the restoration of three medieval fishponds and the creation of a new Parkland Management Plan. The main priorities were to protect and enhance the natural environment, increase biodiversity, improve habitats, water quality and air quality. As part of the restoration, Ebsford were awarded the Stage 8 scheme on the Lamport estate, working alongside Natural England to achieve natural flood management.
Similar to a Stage Zero project involving raising the riverbed to give complete control back to nature, Stage 8 involves lowering the floodplain immediately around the river to give a similar effect. This gives the floodplain better connectivity whilst allowing a higher degree of water management. In addition to reducing flooding, this process can also provide a vast range of biodiverse habitats for both native flora and fauna.
The project kicked off in Autumn 2022, and was the first of its kind for Ebsford. Working with Natural England, Ebsford developed a scheme that would provide lasting and sustainable improvements to the grounds and consisted of reconnecting the incised channel to the flood plain, creating offline storage ponds, leaky dams and 2 stage channels.
The Brampton Branch at the Lamport site was identified as a suitable location for channel modification, to encourage natural flood management process to take place. Prior to the excavation of the flood storage ponds and 2 stage channels, a CAT scan of the area was conducted, quickly identifying any underground utilities to be avoided during the works. The subsoil was excavated creating the shape of the flood storage ponds and the material stored ready for spreading and landscaping.
A combination of minor and major leaky dams were installed within the channel at positions alongside the offline storage ponds, to help slow the flow and flood the ponds more regularly, reducing the amount of water during high flow. Timber logs were positioned in place using an excavator before being back filled with site won material to secure the logs in place, this was repeated until all dams had been created.
Cutting into the original riverbank, the channels were created following the design and ensuring the set lines and levels were followed. The excavations were carried out offline of the channel, ensuring no sediment or material was dispersed within the watercourse. As a final line of defence, a range of in channel defences including sediment screens and Sedimats were installed immediately downstream of the works area, reducing fine sediments within the watercourse. Alongside increasing the capacity of the watercourse, the works will create habitat heterogeneity within the channel, which can lead to an increase in species diversity.
The Stage 8 restoration scheme has allowed for more natural dynamic channels and has kickstarted natural process such as gravel deposition and naturally forming sediment bars. The scheme has given complete control back to nature whilst improving water quality and creating new opportunities for nature to flourish.
