More than three million trees will be planted along river banks in England under plans to create “beaver buffers” to enable the rodents and other wildlife to thrive.
The new woodland will also help to improve water quality by blocking the run-off of pollutants from farms and reduce the risk of flooding by slowing the flow of water.
The government plans to provide £40 million over four years to help landowners plant and maintain trees on 3,150 hectares of riverbanks by March 2025.
The scheme will operate in six river catchment areas: the Taw and Torridge in Devon and Somerset; Tamar and Fowey in Devon and Cornwall; Bure, Glaven, Stiffkey, Wensum, Heacham, Lark, Gaywood and Wissey in Norfolk; Eden and Derwent in Cumbria; Teme in
