4 minute read
Slowing the Flow at Pickering
Pickering, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
This partnership project was led by Forest Research in 2009 and completed in 2015 to help reduce flood risk for the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire. The overall goal for the project was to demonstrate how the integrated application of a range of land management interventions and measures can help reduce flood risk at the catchment scale while providing wider benefits for local communities. A strong local partnership was formed that led to an agreed-upon set of measures designed to reduce the chance of flooding in the town from 25 to 4 percent or less in any given year.
Article cover: Check dams formed from heather bales to help slow runoff within moorland drains and gullies. (Photo by Tom Nisbet, Forest Research)
Producing Efficiencies
An integrated application of a range of land management interventions and measures was investigated to help reduce flood risk at the catchment scale. A set of seven measures were planned—including constructing low-level berms in the Pickering Beck catchment to increase flood storage capacity within the floodplain; planting 50 hectares of riparian woodland in the Pickering Beck catchment and 30 hectares of floodplain woodland in the neighboring catchment of the River Seven at appropriate sites to delay and reduce flood flows; constructing 100 large woody debris dams in the Pickering Beck catchment and a further 50 in the River Seven catchment to increase floodplain storage and delay flood flows; and planting 5 hectares of farm woodland on sensitive soils to increase soil infiltration and reduce rapid surface runoff, erosion, and sediment delivery to watercourses. These were targets, all of which were achieved or exceeded apart from the woodland planting.
Using Natural Processes
This project used several natural processes, such as constructing earth berms and woody debris dams and planting various woodland areas in key locations to maximize the benefits provided to the local communities. The project has been very effective at delivering a set of measures that are expected to meet the target level of flood protection for the town of Pickering by increasing flood storage capacity, delaying flood flows, and reducing run-off and erosion rates. Approximately 130,000 cubic meters of flood storage was provided by the implementation of various measures in the Pickering catchment, and an additional 7,000-8,000 cubic meters of flood storage was provided in the River Seven catchment.
Broadening Benefits
The project gained a very strong national profile and is well cited as a case study demonstrating the value of working with natural processes. Of special note has been the project’s role in helping guide and integrate the implementation of government policy on flood-risk and land-use management. In particular, the project’s success has underpinned key regional and national initiatives on Woodlands for Water, including the use of opportunity mapping to identify priority locations for planting to reduce flood risk, and the introduction of a Woodland for Water grant payment per hectare under the previous English Woodland Grant Scheme.
Promoting Collaboration
To fund the construction of the low-level berm, which was the most expensive measure, a funding package was secured with substantial partner investment from Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, the Regional Flood Coastal Committee, and Pickering Town Council, along with a grant in aid from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency. Defra was the lead funder for the wider project, while Forestry Commission England, the North York Moors National Park Authority and Natural England funded the land management measures.
