A new era in catchment management

Integrated catchment management on the Aire is about to take a new leap forward.

Just a year after the creation of The Aire Catchment Network, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Billy Coburn our new, full time, Catchment Officer for the River Aire. Billy comes to us from Thames21 with valuable expertise across the range of catchment host activities and will lead all of our catchment hosting activity.
Starting on 1st September, he will be working with an ever-increasing range of stakeholders in the Aire to help deliver our vision of:

“A gold standard example of the recovery of a post-industrial river”

They key roles of the post and the areas where we plan to make a difference, are:

• Organising and writing the ACN response to Challenges & Choices and any subsequent consultation over the Humber River Basin Management Plan, including but not limited to:
  • “Developing a Catchment Plan
  • Priority Weirs for fish passage
  • Water quality, ecological and other pressures on the catchment
  • Identification of ‘hot spots’ for action Existing and potential projects    
• Use of GIS to benefit the catchment network ambitions, including development and update of a geographic representation of the Catchment Plan.  
• Extending the development of the ACN role in Natural Flood Management;
  • Developing added value from the network
  • Delivery of landowner engagement work
  • Managing delivery of interventions  
• Working closely with key partners in the ACN to grow support for the network and the ACN Vision, including onboarding additional and under represented stakeholders.  
• Administering the ACN through;
  • Stakeholder updates,
  • Organising and reporting  meetings of Guiding Coalition in addition to whole network events and Working groups.  
• Project development and bid writing  
• Development of monitoring programmes, including citizen science
• Developing sustainable, alternative catchment funding sources.

You can contact Billy on billy.coburn@aireriverstrust.org.uk

This appointment comes courtesy of funding from Yorkshire Water and The Environment Agency