The first phase of a river restoration project at Northcliffe Dike in Shipley has been completed, with work aimed at improving water quality, increasing biodiversity and reducing flood risk.
The site is part of the Better Becks partnership project led by the Aire Rivers Trust, with funding from the Environment Agency and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The wider project focuses on the middle Aire catchment.
Northcliffe Dike runs into Bradford Beck, which is described as a highly responsive watercourse that reacts quickly to rainfall and rises rapidly. The project is intended to help reduce the risk of flooding to residential communities downstream.
The work uses Natural Flood Management methods designed to store water in the catchment naturally. Aire Rivers Trust staff and volunteers have built leaky dams, removed invasive plants and created brash bundles to stabilise soil and trap silt on steep valley slopes.
Woody material and felled trees have also been placed across the hillside and in side gullies to divert water during peak flows. The measures are intended to slow the movement of water and sediment downstream while encouraging vegetation growth and plant succession.
The first phase included removing Gaultheria shallon, an evergreen shrub native to North America, and regenerating beech saplings to increase light and create more open areas in the woodland. A heavily eroded and boggy section of footpath was repaired, with drainage grips installed to divert surface runoff and reduce erosion near the golf course.