Hoylake Carrs Natural Flood Management

Hoylake Carrs Natural Flood Management

The Hoylake Carrs Natural Flood Management (NFM) project is about using natural solutions to help reduce the risk of flooding both now and in the future for people and places downstream of the River Birkett, for example, Meols.

Fully funded by the Environment Agency through their Natural Flood Management Programme, this £430,000 project is led by Cheshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Wirral Council.

What’s happening?

The area of Hoylake Carrs, which can be seen in the map below, is an area of over 24 hectares (that’s about the size of 24 football fields).

The area is designated as Coastal and Floodplain Grazing Marsh habitat, which means that it is a special type of wetland, important for wildlife. This project will help to restore this area into an enhanced multifunctional wetland helping the area to hold more water during heavy rain, prevent flooding, and support wildlife and their habitats.

When is this happening?

In consultation with Natural England, the proposed works are scheduled for late summer 2026 to ensure better ground conditions for delivery.

The project will run until March 2027 to ensure successful establishment of newly created features and embed ongoing management and monitoring arrangements.

How will it work?

The project will carefully restore natural functions of the land, so it can gently move and hold water.

This will be done by adding natural features, such as:

  • Scrapes (shallow dips in the land)
  • Leaky barriers (structures that slow down water flow)
  • Bunds (raised banks to hold water)

These features will allow the area to hold an additional 45,000 cubic metres of water during flooding events or heavy rainfall. That’s like filling 18 Olympic swimming pools!

Even in dry weather, the wetland will hold water to help plants and animals thrive.

On this page you can:

  • View maps and site plans, reports, designs, and answers to common questions
  • Share your ideas for the area using the ideas board below
  • As the programme of work progresses, find information about the latest progress of the project

Please contact the Biodiversity team via email (biodiversity@wirral.gov.uk) if you want to ask specific questions or get involved.

Sharing your ideas

Use the ideas board below to share your ideas and comments on the project.

These will be monitored by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Wirral Council and will be considered and actioned (where appropriate) on an ongoing basis.

Hoylake Carrs Natural Flood Management

The Hoylake Carrs Natural Flood Management (NFM) project is about using natural solutions to help reduce the risk of flooding both now and in the future for people and places downstream of the River Birkett, for example, Meols.

Fully funded by the Environment Agency through their Natural Flood Management Programme, this £430,000 project is led by Cheshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Wirral Council.

What’s happening?

The area of Hoylake Carrs, which can be seen in the map below, is an area of over 24 hectares (that’s about the size of 24 football fields).

The area is designated as Coastal and Floodplain Grazing Marsh habitat, which means that it is a special type of wetland, important for wildlife. This project will help to restore this area into an enhanced multifunctional wetland helping the area to hold more water during heavy rain, prevent flooding, and support wildlife and their habitats.

When is this happening?

In consultation with Natural England, the proposed works are scheduled for late summer 2026 to ensure better ground conditions for delivery.

The project will run until March 2027 to ensure successful establishment of newly created features and embed ongoing management and monitoring arrangements.

How will it work?

The project will carefully restore natural functions of the land, so it can gently move and hold water.

This will be done by adding natural features, such as:

  • Scrapes (shallow dips in the land)
  • Leaky barriers (structures that slow down water flow)
  • Bunds (raised banks to hold water)

These features will allow the area to hold an additional 45,000 cubic metres of water during flooding events or heavy rainfall. That’s like filling 18 Olympic swimming pools!

Even in dry weather, the wetland will hold water to help plants and animals thrive.

On this page you can:

  • View maps and site plans, reports, designs, and answers to common questions
  • Share your ideas for the area using the ideas board below
  • As the programme of work progresses, find information about the latest progress of the project

Please contact the Biodiversity team via email (biodiversity@wirral.gov.uk) if you want to ask specific questions or get involved.

Sharing your ideas

Use the ideas board below to share your ideas and comments on the project.

These will be monitored by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Wirral Council and will be considered and actioned (where appropriate) on an ongoing basis.

Page published: 16 Dec 2025, 04:20 PM