A PROJECT which restores rivers in the Eden Valley is set to get the royal seal of approval when Prince Charles visits the area today (Friday).

His Royal Highness is due to visit the River Leith, at Melkinthorpe, where he will see work undertaken by the Eden Rivers Trust to improve the river habitat for the rare populations of white-clawed crayfish as well as trout, salmon and bankside wildlife.

In the last three years, more than a kilometre of the riverbank has been allowed to regenerate, thanks to a new protective 1.3km fence, and altogether the Trust has restored more than 40km of riverbanks.

Prince Charles will then make his way to the village of Melkinthorpe where he will meet with representatives of the partners that make up the Eden Rivers Trust.

English Nature staff will also be on hand to explain the significance of the River Eden, which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is a candidate to become a Special Area of Conservation.

Prince Charles will also hear about the Environment Agency's ambitious River Eden salmon tracking programme.

The project, which has been under way for two years, aims to identify the spawning grounds of the increasingly rare spring salmon, which Eden is famous.

His Royal Highness will then present Alasdair Brock, the trust's environmental manager, with an English Nature SSSI owner/occupier of the year 2000 award which recognises the contribution that the group has made to habitat restoration in Eden.