Farnley Wood Beck Natural Flood Management scheme
Find out how we're delivering NFM measures to help reduce flood risk
Leeds City Council Flood Resilience
Farnley Wood Beck Natural Flood Management (NFM) scheme
The Farnley Wood Beck catchment starts in the headwaters north of Gildersome as a small to medium land drainage channel, through to an active meandering channel and becoming heavily modified just upstream of its confluence with the Mill Shaw Beck, at Millshaw Park Industrial Estate.
Why does Farnley Wood Beck need NFM?
The NFM scheme aims to enhance climate resilience alongside the existing protection already provided to properties on Old Close, which benefitted from a £1,000,000 scheme completed in 2023 as part of Farnley Wood Beck Phase 1. NFM was tested in the Farnley Wood Beck modelling for the Phase 1 scheme and showed benefits to flood resilience.
This project will focus on the entirety of the Farnley Wood Beck catchment, with particular interest paid to the semi-rural areas in the upper reaches. These areas are ecologically poor, highly modified in places and very fast flowing. As such, there is scope for a suite of NFM works that can have significant positive impact on flood management, whilst granting additional benefit to the natural environment.
What is Natural Flood Management?
Natural Flood Management involves creating and restoring natural features to slow down the flow of water across the landscape or store flood water temporarily.
This allows water to be absorbed into the soil or evaporate, reducing the risk of flooding in surrounding areas.
Examples include:
- Tree planting
- Soil aeration
- Creating leaky dams or artificial wetlands
Benefits of NFM:
- Reduces flood risk in the catchment by slowing and storing water
- Improves water quality
- Creates new habitat for wildlife
- Capturing carbon
For more information on NFM, watch this series of videos from Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
Next steps
The Leeds City Council Flood Risk Management team has been working with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to conduct a feasibility study, assessing suitable locations for NFM interventions such as tree planting, soil aeration, leaky dams and other natural flood management methods.
We are looking to submit a business case in the next few months. If funding is secured, we will run a public consultation later this year to inform how we move forward with the project.
Contact us
For any more information, please email us at FRM@leeds.gov.uk and include 'Farnley Wood Beck NFM scheme'.
Page last reviewed March 2025
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