River Axe Landscape Recovery
About
River Axe Landscape Recovery is a pioneering project restoring over 2,200 hectares of farmland and river habitat across Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
Led by the River Axe CIC and co-designed with local farmers, it tackles pollution, floodplain disconnection and biodiversity loss. Backed by Defra and regional partners, the project aims to blend public and private finance to deliver long-term environmental and community benefits, including cleaner water, healthier soils, and thriving wildlife across the River Axe catchment.
The River Axe Landscape Recovery (RALR) project is one of Defra’s flagship Landscape Recovery initiatives, designed to reverse decades of ecological decline and create a resilient, thriving River Axe catchment across Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
Spanning over 2,200 hectares and 28 family-run farms, the project tackles the root causes of the River Axe’s deterioration – diffuse agricultural pollution, historic dredging, and floodplain disconnection – through coordinated action on rivers, farmland, climate resilience and community engagement. Together, these efforts will restore more than 20 km of degraded river channels, create and enhance over 800 hectares of semi-natural habitat, and generate measurable improvements in biodiversity, water quality and soil health.
Led by the River Axe Community Interest Company (CIC), RALR has been co-designed with local farmers and supported by partners including FWAG SouthWest, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Magdalen Environmental Trust, Blackdown Hills National Landscape and Natural England. The project forms a central pillar of the Triple Axe collaboration and the wider East Devon Catchment Partnership, ensuring that recovery in the Axe aligns with work across the neighbouring Lim and Yarty catchments.
Having completed its development phase (2023–2025), River Axe Landscape Recovery is now awaiting approval from Defra to move into implementation. Once confirmed, the 20-year delivery phase (2026–2050) will see farmers enter into long-term agreements that link outcome-based payments with measurable improvements in phosphorus reduction, floodplain connection, river function and wildlife recovery.
Through its blended-finance model, River Axe Landscape Recovery combines public Landscape Recovery investment with future revenues from Biodiversity Net Gain, carbon, and natural-capital markets, ensuring that environmental restoration goes hand-in-hand with resilient farm businesses and vibrant rural communities.
