North Yorkshire wetland scheme tackles downstream flooding
Summarised from Darlington & Stockton Times's report · Updated 24 Oct, 21:27 · Archive
A natural flood management project completed near Leyburn in North Yorkshire aims to reduce downstream flood risk through wetland restoration.
A large-scale natural flood management project has been completed at Hauxwell Estate and Dalton Farms near Leyburn in North Yorkshire. Led by the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust through the Ousewem, a Defra-funded programme, the scheme aims to reduce downstream flood risk whilst restoring lost habitats. The project took two years to plan and fifteen days to deliver.
A key intervention was the re-meandering of Brompton Beck, which had previously been straightened, allowing water to move rapidly towards downstream communities. The redesigned watercourse now spills onto its floodplain, creating a mosaic of wetland habitats from muddy margins and shallow temporary ponds to deeper permanent waterbodies. Matthew Lyall, senior project manager at the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, stated that years of drainage and straightened channels had sped water off the land, greatly increasing flood risk downstream, 'something which has now been reversed'.
The scheme features more than 50 scrapes, ponds, and bunds, approximately 400 metres of re-meandered watercourse, new hedgerow planting, and diverse wetland habitats. Locally sourced gravel and cobble have been incorporated to provide habitats, whilst a redesigned ford allows both fish passage and continued farm access. These interventions are designed to slow, store, and spread water during heavy rainfall.
Read the report
- Major new nature-based scheme to tackle flooding in North YorkshireA large-scale natural flood management project has been completed at Hauxwell Estate and Dalton Farms near Leyburn in North Yorkshire.Darlington & Stockton Times · 24 Oct, 18:00
In this story: Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust · Hauxwell Estate · Dalton Farms · Leyburn · Brompton Beck · Hunton · Defra
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