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Hundreds of trees have been planted along the River Aire in Leeds as part of a £112 million natural flood defence trial.
In total, 1,500 trees are being placed in four plots along the river, starting at Eshton Beck Gargrave.
The project is part of a flood alleviation scheme that includes new defence walls and embankments that will offer a one-in-100-year level of flood protection.
The next phase of the project includes creating a large flood storage area, which makes use of an existing flood plain giving a one-in-200-year level of protection.
The tree planting is a trial to measure natural techniques to slow the flow of water and reduce flooding risks downstream. As well as tree planting the measures include fencing, leak barriers and stabilising riverbanks.
Don Vine, conservation officer with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which oversaw planting and work at the four sites, said: “We have already seen some small changes along the watercourse due to our recent work and we will be monitoring all these interventions over the next few years to measure impact – not only river flow, but also water quality and wildlife.”
These natural flood management solutions are being trialled alongside traditional engineering techniques and will create new woodland areas and canopy coverage in the River Aire catchment.
The first phase was completed in October 2017 with £50 million of flood defences installed along the River Aire. The second phase will see £112.1 million invested in flood protection.
The project is being undertaken by Leeds City Council with the Environment Agency to reduce the danger of flooding events in areas that were previously badly hit by floods in December 2015.
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