Grouse moor managers wrongly blamed for flooding devastation: Our letter to The Guardian

Flooding and moorland management.

Good morning. I reside in the Calder Valley where you may be aware there have been significant floods in the last 10 years or so in and adjacent to Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge etc. There is strong local feeling amoungst some locals -including an organisation ‘of sorts-’ called ‘Ban the Burn’, about moorland management and the alleged correlation with flooding. Despite the fact that some of the work you speak of has been undertaken by local land owners - large and small- for many years it has largely been ignored by most of the people I speak of. It is interesting to note however that the majority of the millions of pounds which has been spent in attempts to address flooding has been spent in the valley itself. In particular widening the local rivers, ensuring the neglected drains and watercourses have been replaced - and properly maintained. Yorkshire Water have also been encouraged to manage storage and outflow from many of their reservoirs in conjunction with predicted rainfall etc. Does this indicate that the real problems lie elsewhere ? We know climate change predictions indicate wetter extremes. This has undoubtedly been the driving factor in flooding across the country in the last decade or so. In the majority of these incidents there has not been a grouse moor within a 100 miles or so, but still the naive point the finger elsewhere. We should applaud current moorland management practices which are often done in partnership with statutory bodies and others who see the bigger picture. Respectfully. Phillip Walker