136 hectares of farmland to be rewetted in Great Fen project

Work has begun to rewet 136 hectares of former wheat and potato land in Cambridgeshire, as a major new trial seeks to show whether peat restoration can coexist with productive farming.

Speechly’s Farm, part of the Great Fen, is being transformed into one of the UK’s largest active wetland restoration sites, with pools, channels and reedbeds due to be created over the next 12 months.

The project will also include a 6.5-hectare wet farming trial, testing whether land can remain agriculturally productive while being managed with a higher water table.

The approach, known as paludiculture, is intended to protect peat soils and keep more carbon locked in the ground while creating opportunities for farming under wetter conditions.

It comes amid a wider debate over how the Fens can reduce emissions from degrading peat without sacrificing some of England’s most productive agricultural land.

The region contains 48% of England’s Grade 1 agricultural land and produces around a fifth of the country’s crops and a third of its vegetables, according to the government’s Fens 2100+ programme.

Concerns about taking peatland out of conventional agricultural production have therefore formed part of the wider discussion around rewetting the Fens.

Cambridgeshire County Council acknowledges that removing peatland from agricultural production could affect national food production and says large-scale peatland restoration alone is not a viable solution.

Instead, the council has backed a mixture of peat-friendly farming practices, wet farming and targeted restoration while maintaining food security and a viable agricultural sector.

The Speechly’s Farm trial is intended to explore that balance on a larger scale.

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire has already established smaller wet farming plots nearby, but said the new area would provide an opportunity to demonstrate what could be achieved more widely.

Until three years ago, the land at Speechly’s Farm was used to grow wheat and potatoes before being sown with grass to protect the soil while preparations for the restoration were made.

Around 2km of channels and four pools will now be created across the site, which covers an area almost the size of Hyde Park.

Specialist weirs and other water-control structures will also be installed to raise the water table.

The aim is to protect the underlying peat while establishing wetland habitat for species including wading birds, water voles, otters, dragonflies and aquatic plants.

Lorna Parker, Great Fen project manager, said: “It’s taken a huge amount of work from a lot of people to get to this point so it’s amazing to see the diggers finally starting to create the channels which will soon fill with water and create a wetland landscape.”

She said restoration at nearby New Decoy Farm was already attracting wildlife, but Speechly’s Farm represented a considerably larger undertaking.

“We’ve just finished the restoration of New Decoy Farm nearby and we are already seeing waders and ducks dropping in – but Speechly’s Farm is on another scale of magnitude.”

Parker added: “This will significantly increase the space for threatened species in Cambridgeshire – we’re really excited to see what it’s going to become.”

However, the agricultural element is also central to the project as land managers look for ways to reduce emissions from peat without completely removing farming from the landscape.

“But it’s not just about birds and butterflies – this site will showcase how conservation and farming can go hand in hand so that we can create a more sustainable economy in the Fens,” Parker said.

The challenge is particularly significant in Cambridgeshire, where drained peat soils have become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cambridgeshire County Council estimates peatland emissions across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at around 5.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year, while recognising the importance of protecting agricultural production.

Restoration at Speechly’s Farm will also help reconnect Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen, two remaining fragments of ancient fen habitat which have been separated for centuries.

New habitat between the two areas is expected to give existing wildlife more room to spread and provide space for other species to establish.

The work is being funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund-backed Peatland Progress project and forms part of the wider Great Fen programme.

Its long-term ambition is to create a 14-square-mile restored peat landscape alongside local communities and sustainable farming.