Bowston is the largest river barrier removal planned for the UK this year and will allow fish and other species to move more freely, the Guardian has reported.

Nearly 150 years after it was built for a paper mill, work has begun to demolish a 3-metre-high weir in Cumbria as part of nationwide efforts to improve biodiversity by allowing fish and invertebrates to move more freely along the UK’s rivers.

Bowston weir lies across the River Kent, an internationally important site of special scientific interest, home to white-clawed crayfish and freshwater pearl mussels, as well as water crowfoot, an oxygenating aquatic plant. But the river is in poor condition due to human interference over the centuries.

Pete Evoy, director of South Cumbria Rivers Trust, said: “Removing Bowston weir will help renaturalise this section of the River Kent, improve navigation for migratory species, reduce flood risks for residents and provide a 44% biodiversity net gain.

“We expect to see more fish, eels, invertebrates and other species,” he said. “It will be the first weir removal on the River Kent but we hope it won’t be the last.”

One of 14 obstacles on the Kent, the 25-metre-wide weir was built in 1874 to control the water flow that powered Bowston Mill, which made rags and rope for the paper industry. The mill closed in the 1960s and was demolished but the weir was left in place.

It has been estimated that there are about 50 to 60,000 dams, weirs and culverts on UK rivers, fewer than half of which are mapped, including barriers built for industry, agriculture and flood defences. Many are now obsolete but continue to block rivers, harming ecosystems.

Bowston is the largest river barrier removal planned for the UK this year. Funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, it is expected to take up to three months.

Last year was a record for dam removals in Europe, with at least 239 dams, weirs and other barriers dismantled across 17 countries, including a dam that has blocked Norway’s Tromsa River for more than 100 years. The recently launched Open Rivers Programme will invest €42.5m (£36.5m) over the next six years in the removal of river barriers across Europe.

But conservationists and river experts are concerned by the slow pace of action in the UK and failure to bring in promised legislation.

The full story in the Guardian can be read here.

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