PEOPLE, homes and businesses in Ilkley will be better protected from flooding thanks to a £650,000 investment in natural flood management schemes, the Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey announced on Friday.

The main bulk of the funding, £500,000, will go towards pioneering projects to benefit more than 200 properties within the Upper Ure and Bishopdale (Wensleydale), Brompton-on-Swale, and Backstone Beck (Ilkley) catchments.

Communities affected will be consulted by the Environment Agency, who will be carrying out the natural flood management work.

The funding will help facilitate latest natural flood management techniques, such as creating wetlands, restoring bogs and reintroducing river bends to slow the flow of water.

As well as reducing flood risk, the schemes will have multiple environmental benefits – such as improving water quality and restoring habitats for creatures like the red squirrel and black grouse. It will also help preserve the uplands as green spaces for future generations to enjoy.

The scheme is one of 58 across England which will benefit from £15 million of government funding for natural flood defences.

Floods minister Thérèse 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.”

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said: “Natural flood management is an important part of our approach, alongside traditional flood defences and helping homeowners to improve their own property resilience.

“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.”

Natural flood management involves enhancing the natural function of catchments, rivers, floodplains and coasts to slow the flow of river water and reduce surface water run-off. This can include measures such as restoring floodplains, capturing run-off in uplands and planting trees and using sand or shingle to protect the coast.

One of the purposes of the Small Communities Fund investments are to test out innovative natural flood management solutions and gather scientific information on its benefits.

The government’s natural flood management drive builds on the 1,500 flood schemes the Environment Agency is already building across the country to better protect more than 300,000 homes by 2021.

The £15 million of government funding also includes the £1 million competition for smaller community projects to fund natural flood management schemes.