Wiltshire Council has approved restoration works and habitat improvement along a 3km length of the River Avon.

According to the submitted planning application, the site is situated between the north west boundary of Amesbury and the southern boundary of Durrington.

The A303 highway crosses the site downstream and ‘the Lords Walk’ public footpath runs along the southern boundary of the site.

The application states: “The River Avon and its floodplain have been heavily modified through the site, historically for land drainage and more recently to facilitate the construction of the A303 road and associated infrastructure.”

The project, which will be led by Wessex Rivers Trust, will aim to reinstate natural habitats, whilst restoring natural processes and increasing climate resilience.

The works will include bank scalloping to increase the existing channels' sinuosity, the installation of woody debris that improves the habitat for instream fish and insects, bed raising and the creation of new channels.

Measures to protect certain species will be carried out, such as 5m buffer zones implemented from water vole burrows to prevent disturbance.  

The heritage statement described the planned changes as “not discernible by the average person.”

It concluded: “It would be reasonable to conclude that the proposed works would cause no harm to any heritage assets.”

Full details of the plans can be found on Wiltshire Council's planning and building control public register.