The River Mease in the Midlands has won the UK River Prize 2026 after a 13-year restoration campaign led by the Trent Rivers Trust (TRT) and largely funded by the Environment Agency. The prize, established by the River Restoration Centre in 2014, recognises innovative river restoration projects.
The lowland river, which rises in Leicestershire and flows through Derbyshire and Staffordshire into the Trent, had been heavily modified over the past 150 years. It was straightened, deepened and constrained by weirs to drain farmland, leaving it with little connection to its floodplain. High phosphate levels from agricultural run-off caused algal blooms, cutting light and oxygen, which hit fish populations including two rare species, the spined loach and European bullhead.
The project worked with 111 farmers, covering more than half of the river's catchment area, to create buffer strips and restore natural water channels. One example is Culloden Farm in Leicestershire, where Jo and Tony Thorp allowed a 500-metre tributary to meander across their land, forming a wetland that attracts birds such as the threatened sedge warbler.
Ruth Needham of the Trent Rivers Trust said the award was a "massive boost" and a sign that other rivers could be improved. "If we can get the Mease into better condition, we can improve other rivers, too," she said. "A noisy river is a healthy river."
