Natural Flood Management in Calderdale

Natural flood management sign at Hardcastle Crags in Calderdale

Natural flood management is a key theme in our Flood Action Plan. Local organisations play an essential role in developing and delivering projects, securing funding and improving the evidence base to promote its use on a wider scale. The actions in the Plan are being delivered by a range of partners, including:

Third sector partners including National Trust, Moors for the Future, Calder and Colne Rivers Trust and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Calderdale community organisations including Forus Tree and Slow the Flow
Key statutory organisations including Calderdale Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water

The Plan is also delivered in collaboration with landowners across Calderdale. You can find a general introduction to NFM on this page.

Attenuation pond filled with water in a farmers field.

Current projects in Calderdale

This interactive map shows completed and ongoing Natural Flood Management projects across the Calder catchment. It details the types of measures, funding sources and partnerships that have made this work possible.

View the map

How to use the map

Click the 'View the map' button, then press the ‘Present’ arrow and allow the map presentation to fully load. This can take a couple of minutes depending on your internet speed. The orange hexagonal shapes at the top of the map explain how to move around the map and take a look at the project information presented.

This spreadsheet summarises all of the information presented in the map.

How can I help?

While lots of work is already underway in Calderdale to naturally manage flood risk, we need action on a larger scale to have the biggest impact. If you’re interested in implementing natural flood management measures, here are some ways you can get involved:

Landowners and farmers

NFM can include a range of different measures that vary in complexity, cost and benefits provided. The advice below has been designed to help you decide if NFM is right for your land:

Practical guidance – this simple guide provides information on natural flood management measures for landowners and farmers in Calderdale
Consents and approvals – this guidance document helps landowners understand which consents or permits have to be obtained before undertaking natural flood management
Funding – find out more about the Landowner Grants Scheme which provides funding to support natural flood management

For further advice and support with your natural flood management project, please get in touch: [email protected].

Property owners

Even if you don’t have land available, there are still steps you can take to slow the flow of water in a flood. Find out more about the simple changes you can make to your property.

Volunteers

You can also volunteer with local community and third sector organisations. The projects in the interactive map further up the page show where there are opportunities to volunteer. Other opportunities are also shared on our News page.

Hillsides in Calderdale with low lying clouds

Natural Flood Management Opportunities

The Natural Flood Management Opportunities map shows:

The land areas where new NFM measures are likely to make the greatest impact for flood resilience
Where ecological impacts are likely to be low, or where there may be some ecological constraints
Further assessments may be needed for the suitability and benefits of NFM and any constraints at the locations identifies.

The land across Calderdale is colour coded to show potential high-level opportunities based on our current ecological knowledge and catchments which have been prioritised through modelling.

View the map

Farmer and his son looking down the protective plastic tube at the tree growing.

What can Natural Flood Management Deliver in Calderdale?

Modelling work carried out by partner organisations and consultants is giving us a better understanding of where to target natural flood management measures. It also helps us to see how we can increase flood resilience if we scale up the work we are doing.

Two recent pieces of work give us a picture of what could be achieved:

Calderdale NFM Study (Atkins) – this is a high-level study using a tool called NFM Studio to look at how much natural flood management could be delivered across Calderdale. It also looks at:
- The cost and benefits
- How NFM would help improve flood resilience on top of engineered flood defences
- What added natural environmental benefits there might be
NFM Calderdale Summary Modelling Report (iCASP) – this looks at three sub-catchments in the Upper Calder Valley to help our understanding of current land management practices. It also looks at what NFM interventions might be best suited in these areas. Information sheets of the key findings are available alongside the full report.