A MULTI-MILLION pound flood defence scheme will take advantage of a dale’s natural resources to protect more than 180 homes and businesses.

Weardale in County Durham is one of 58 locations across England set to benefit from £15 million of government funding for natural flood management projects.

Two million pounds will be spent on pioneering techniques across a 100 square kilometre area, reducing the risk of flooding in the Stanhope, Killhope, Ireshopeburn, Rookhope, Middlehope and Wearhead areas.

These include integrating small temporary storage areas into the landscape, restoring peatland, and creating woodland and grazing marshes.

The scheme will help to create better habitats for wildlife by improving the health of five tributary streams of the River Wear which still feel the effects of historical mining. And efforts to restore peatland and woodland will help to capture carbon from the atmosphere.

The news has been welcomed by Weardale’s two county councillors, John Shuttleworth and Anita Savory.

Cllr Shuttleworth said: “This is excellent news. The places that will benefit are all places that have suffered from flooding in the past. “Although some are quite high up, the water seeps down from higher still and, because not much work has been done in recent years, the problem has got worse. There were some really bad floods in 2009.”

Cllr Savory added: “It is good to see such a large investment coming into Weardale. Flooding can cause absolute chaos, destroying homes and livelihoods.”

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.

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.

The Weardale natural flood management demonstrator is a partnership project between the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, Durham County Council, North Pennines AONB, Newcastle University and Durham University.

Local land owners, farmers and communities will play a key role in shaping how the project is developed and implemented, to ensure that the measures delivered reflect their aspirations and needs.

Jim Heslop, of the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “The North East has a great track record in the development of natural flood management and this project is an exciting opportunity to, once again, be at the forefront of this approach.

“We look forward to working with local communities and farmers to understand how we can develop this project together to maximise the benefits for the people of Weardale.”