Region awarded funds to add new natural defences to flooding

YORKSHIRE’S NATURAL flooding defences are to be upgraded in the Dales and downstream towards Ilkley as part of a £15m national investment package announced by the Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey.

A total of £500,000 will be used to create wetlands, restore bogs and reintroduce river bends to slow the flow of water, in order to reduce flood risk, improve water quality and restore habitats for creatures like the red squirrel and black grouse.

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, which will be responsible for carrying out the work, said: “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to flooding and this scheme is a fantastic example of how we can use a variety of measures that work together to reduce flood risk.”

Another £150,000 will be shared between similar projects earmarked for other parts of the region – in Ryedale, Calderdale and near Wetherby.

Announcing the funding, Ms Coffey said: “Tailored mixes of natural and concrete flood defences have already been used to great acclaim here in Yorkshire, and I am delighted more families, homes and communities will now be able to benefit from these innovative techniques.

“With techniques such as restoring floodplains and planting trees to contain water run-off, this funding will further boost Yorkshire’s flood protection by using the region’s own luscious landscape to harness its rivers and their flows.”