Borough Council pursues plans to reintroduce beavers in a bid to boost biodiversity

A Eurasian Beaver. Image from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust/Shutterstock

By Eddie Bisknell – Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Derbyshire council is pursuing plans to reintroduce beavers, following success elsewhere in the county, in a bid to boost biodiversity.

Erewash Borough Council has revealed the plans as part of its new draft biodiversity strategy.

The strategy aims to pursue a “feasibility study and exploration with partners to potentially reintroduce the Eurasian Beaver into the Erewash Valley”.

This follows the successful reintroduction by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust of a breeding pair of beavers at the Willington Wetlands nature reserve in September 2021, bringing the species back to Derbyshire after 800 years.

There are four adult beavers at Willington and one breeding pair have had two babies – kits – a year since 2022.

The wildlife trust describes beavers as a keystone species which play a crucial role as “ecosystem engineers”.

It said: “As they go about their day to day life shaping the wetlands for their own benefit, they have a huge impact on the surrounding areas. By digging canal systems and damming water courses, they create diverse wetland areas and homes for other animals such as otters, water voles and water shrews.”

The wildlife trust details that reintroduction costs “thousands of pounds per beaver” but their return helps to improve water quality and reduce flood risks.

Rachel Bennett, deputy director of wilder landscapes at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Beavers are native, semi-aquatic mammals that were once widespread across Britain. They have many benefits for humans and the environment, such as improving water quality, drought resilience and flood management.

“It is now four years since beavers were reintroduced into an enclosure at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Willington Wetlands, 800 years after they last inhabited the county.

“Living up to their reputation as nature’s ‘ecosystem engineers’, they have created a more diverse and dynamic environment for themselves with enormous benefits to other wildlife as well. 

“It’s encouraging to see more organisations taking action for nature, such as exploring the potential to reintroduce Eurasian beavers into the Erewash Valley in the future.”

Councillor Becca Everett, the borough council’s deputy leader, said: “We’re excited to look at introducing more wildlife into Erewash through our draft biodiversity report. 

“The proposed objective to reintroduce Eurasian Beavers is thrilling, but it’s still in the early stages as the report hasn’t been reviewed yet. Council executives will review the Biodiversity Report in a meeting on 13th January.

“Introducing species like beavers has been shown to help mitigate flood risk which could create a safer, more attractive environment for our borough too. 

“The feasibility study would determine which locations within the borough could be suitable for the project. 

“If we receive approval to pursue this objective, we will look forward to seeking external funding for the study with partners, and hopefully we’ll be able to look out for beavers around the borough in the future.”