The North West Norfolk Planning Group is based on the Environment Agency North West Norfolk management catchment. The main settlements in the area are Kings Lynn, Downham Market and Hunstanton. Outside the urban areas land-use is dominated by arable farming and woodland. Links to the Environment Agency North West Norfolk Abstraction Licence Strategy (ALS) and Catchment Data Explorer page are here:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/ManagementCatchment/3065
Most of the North West Norfolk catchment is underlain by Chalk, except in the west where the fen and adjoining areas are underlain by older Greensand, Gault and Wealden Group deposits. Superficial deposits are restricted in occurrence to small deposits of Till. These are concentrated on valley sides and interfluves in the upper parts of the catchment. Members in this Planning Group mainly abstract surface water from rivers and streams or groundwater from the Chalk.
The North West Norfolk catchment contains many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), including the River Nar, and Norfolk valley fens which are designated Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). The condition of these is currently being assessed, with the need for licence changes to meet Habitats Regulation requirements being considered. All remaining abstractions in the catchment will be reviewed as part of the Environment Agency Catchment Permit Review process expected to be completed between 2028 & 2035.
From the National Framework for Water Resources (2025), some waterbodies in the North West Norfolk catchment are at risk of licence reduction under current conditions. Over the period to 2050 and 2080 this risk increases, with reductions possible in most North West Norfolk waterbodies.
National Framework for Water Resources 2025: Risk of licence reductions by waterbody for the North West Norfolk Planning Group (see also NF2025 Licence Reductions.docx)
A link to the National Framework for Water Resources 2025 data is here:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/4347271e-4867-4c5a-a2ae-d4830b3eeb03
