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Landscapes for water

The landscapes for water project is restoring upland areas around Marsden Moor to slow water flow, reduce flood risk and improve biodiversity.

Delivery

What is the landscapes for water project?

The landscapes for water scheme will use natural flood management methods in upland areas around Marsden Moor. The scheme aims to manage and slow the flow of water into rivers and lower the risk of flooding downstream.

The land in this area is in poor condition with exposed peat and artificially drained landscapes. When it rains, water runs off too quickly, carrying away soil and carbon. This causes a risk of flooding further downstream and a loss of biodiversity.

The landscapes for water scheme will use natural methods to slow and manage the flow of water so the land can hold more water, support wildlife and prevent flooding. This includes:

  • Creating 35 pools to provide additional water storage
  • Installing up to 3,500 Natural Flood Management (NFM) dams to temporarily store and slow the flow of water
  • Constructing 35 fascines (long bundles of sticks of wood or plastic bound together) to strengthen riverbanks, reduce erosion and encourage natural plant growth
  • Running 25 community NFM days with up to 150-200 people at each event to raise awareness of flood management activities
  • Running 15 NFM collaboration events to share learnings and best practice around techniques and interventions to improve understanding for future scheme

As a result of this work, the project is expected to:

  • Increase flood resilience to approximately 1,381 homes and business in the Calder and Colne catchment areas
  • Restore the landscape across the catchment areas, increase biodiversity and improve resilience to climate change
  • Improve the understanding of catchment management and flooding

This scheme is led by West Yorkshire Combined Authority and National Trust. Work started in August 2023 and is expected to be completed in March 2028.

The scheme is part of a wider Landscapes for Water programme which aims to restore habitats, increase biodiversity and provide resilience to climate change. This is being delivered by the National Trust in conjunction with Yorkshire Water and the White Rose Forest. Find out more about the Landscapes for Water programme.

How is this project funded?

The Landscapes for Water scheme was funded by £1,984,000 from the Devolution Gainshare (Climate and Environment Plan: Wave 1). Find out more about the West Yorkshire devolution deal.

What is the flood risk management programme?

This programme is a series of measures to help prevent flooding. They aim to:

  • Reduce the need for repairs to houses and businesses from flood damage
  • Improve flood protection for vulnerable and deprived areas
  • Use innovative and sustainable flood prevention methods, which will help decrease our carbon footprint and support our goal to become carbon net zero by 2038
  • Improve biodiversity in our rivers and surrounding areas, supporting our Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The £7 million-pound Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme uses methods that work with the environment and replicate natural processes.

As well as the NFM programme, there is £10million available to focus on flood prevention infrastructure. This will support a wide range of engineering schemes delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency and local authorities. This will protect 2,560 homes and 2,271 businesses, as well as safeguarding around 29,000 full time jobs.

Find out more

For more information, please email our team.

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