Natural flood management reaches new heights on Brant Fell

WORK has started on Brant Fell Common above Sedbergh to slow the flow of water, enhance natural habitats and increase the capacity of the fell to absorb carbon.

It is thanks to £72,000 of Defra’s Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) funding from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) and £48,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Foundation for Common Land led project, has been devised by environmental and engineering experts, JBA Consulting (JBA). They included local commoners and The Farmer Network in shaping the plan of works. It involves two sites on the fell, Winder and Settlebeck Gill, because of their proximity to Sedbergh.

Yesterday (Wednesday 13 November), a helicopter spent the day moving whole larch trees up the steep side of Brant Fell to the areas identified by JBA and the commoners as the best place for 22 leaky barriers. Leaky barriers, made from the logs, slow down and intercept the movement of water.

Alongside this, the NFM measures include adding cross drains to public rights of way footpaths preventing them from becoming mini streams. This happens because their surface is compacted and rainwater cannot infiltrate it. The footpaths will be maintained by the YDNPA ranger team who are overseeing this part of the work with the Lune River Trust.

These small-scale interventions bring many benefits says Our Upland Commons Project Officer, Claire Braeburn. She said: “The common will be more resilient to climate change and improve the flood resilience of Sedbergh and other places affected by flooding. It will also improve carbon sequestration, and provide better habitats for nature.

“That includes an important group of plants Bryophytes, or mosses, liverworts and hornworts, that were discovered last year (2023). They are crucial components of ecosystems and they are probably one of the oldest land plants. A study of the Bryophytes this summer (2024) by Jasmine Wragg, a student on an MSc placement with JBA means the natural flood management work has been designed to support the habitats they favour.”

Adrian Shepherd, the YDNPA’s head of land management said: “Land management on Brant Fell has an increasing focus on helping to reduce flooding downstream since the devastation caused by Storm Desmond in 2015, when Sedbergh was badly affected.

“Brant Fell is a huge common, with water flowing down into the Lune, The Rawthey and Sedbergh. Holding rain water on the common for longer will help with flood resilience and the huge impact flooding has on the communities at risk.

“This great collaborative project, draws on the knowledge of local commoners who work on and manage the fell. It will deliver biodiversity, carbon capture and natural flood management, linking an upland landscape and those who manage it to downstream beneficiaries, he added.”

The NFM measures will be place by the end of November and carried out by two local firms, Penrith based Catchment Design Solutions and Field & Fell Environmental Limited from Skipton.