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UNTIL you actually step on site, it is impossible to grasp the size of the engineering work which is being carried out at Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck - the two largest of five projects taking place to help protect the town from flooding.

At both locations, Galliford Black & Veatch, which has the contract to carry out the work, is building two dams to control the flow of the becks as they make their way down into Skipton town centre.

During severe storm events, these two waterways contribute significantly to flooding which has engulfed parts of Skipton in recent years.

It has been estimated that the cost of a major flood in the town would run into millions of pounds, with hundreds of homes and businesses at risk.

Economic damage alone could add up to £15 million and there could also be a significant threat to human life by a rapid inundation.

Last winter was bad enough, with a number of homes and businesses being flooded in Skipton on Boxing Day - and other areas narrowly escaping the flood waters.

Hence, major work is being carried out in and above the town. It has seen thousands of tons of earth and clay being shifted and relocated, rivers temporarily redirected and aquatic life rescued, all as part of the £13 million cost of the works due to be completed later this year.

At the golf course site of Eller Beck, 40 to 50 brown trout, the same number of bullheads and stone loach and, remarkably, ten lampreys were removed and returned to the watercourse away from the works. Eel-like lampreys have been making a comeback in British rivers in recent years.

At the same location, an otter shelf has been constructed inside the concrete culvert which allows the animal safe passage. Before work began, a biodiversity survey was carried out and otter droppings were discovered nearby, providing evidence that the animals are in the area.

Features that break up the speed of the water flow have also been installed inside the concrete culvert to help provide safe passage for fish through the new structure.

The success of the project has also depended on the co-operation of Skipton Golf Club which has had to relocate two of its greens to accommodate the Eller beck dam.

Similarly, at the Waller Hill beck site, the Environment Agency has been working with the landowners, the Stapleton family, to progress the scheme.

Guiding the work to fruition are EA project manager Jenny Cooke, project executive Will Benedikz, and David Neeve, senior dam engineer for the construction firm Arup.

They are overseeing the construction of two storage dams upstream of Skipton on Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck which have a combined capacity of 130 million gallons. In the town centre, about 300 metres of existing flood defence walls are being raised at Ginnel Mews behind Newmarket Street, new walls are being built at Devonshire Place, and improvement works at Spindle Mill. Outside Morrisons supermarket and B&M store in Broughton Road, new and raised flood walls are being constructed along the open section of Eller Beck.

When finished, the work is expected to provide a significantly improved standard of flood protection to 378 homes and at least 165 businesses as well as enabling economic growth and development in Skipton with the potential to create 500 jobs.

"The aim of the work at the two dam sites is to control the flow of water of each beck as they enter and pass through the town," said Will.

"Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck often swell very quickly after heavy rain and these schemes aim to control that flow and stop it flooding the town.

"The floodwaters will be held back and stored in the reservoirs created by the dams and released slowly. It will prevent the flash flooding which Skipton is susceptible to."

He paid thanks to the landowners for their co-operation. "We had few options where to place the dam at Skipton Golf Club and, essentially, it meant encroaching on the 16th and 17th holes.

"We fully appreciate how much we have disturbed the club members and also the Stapleton family at Skibeden Farm but we are very grateful for their cooperation," he said.

Arup's David Neeve explained how the flood reduction scheme works. It is based on the construction of concrete culverts passing under the earth dams which are designed to control the flow of the waterways. Each has a device, broadly similar to the function of a sluice gate.

The floodwaters are held back by the dam and in high floods will form a lake which will be released steadily. If the water levels threaten to top the dam - not expected to happen more than once a century - the floodwaters will be released down a weir to enter the river lower down.

When the work is finally over at both sites, the areas will be landscaped and most of the construction will be out of sight. Only in severe, stormy weather when the dams come into their own will passers-by see the reservoirs backing up behind the dams.

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Huge civil engineering work is under way to protect Skipton

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UNTIL you actually step on site, it is impossible to grasp the size of the engineering work which is being carried out at Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck - the two largest of five projects taking place to help protect the town from flooding.

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NATURAL measures to reduce flood risk, which include the planting of thousands of trees in the River Aire catchment area, are due to go on show in Skipton next week.

A team from the Environment Agency, leading the pilot as part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, will be at Skipton Auction Mart on Wednesday (May 23) talking to farmers and landowners to seek out potential new pilot sites to test the techniques.

The Upper Aire Land Management project sets out to work with natural processes to reduce flood risk, known as natural flood management, and is an important part of managing and reducing flood risk in a sustainable way alongside more traditional engineering solutions.

The team hopes to build on the existing work done in the catchment by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and others, to work with farmers to seek further potential sites in the upper Aire catchment to test natural flood management techniques.

They include tree and hedgerow planting, leaky barriers and brash dams to help slow down the flow of water during a flood.

It also helps create habitat for wildlife and regenerate rural and urban areas through tourism.

The natural flood management pilots form part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, led by Leeds City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency, which has a catchment wide approach to reducing flood risk to Leeds.

The £500,000 pilot programme, which has been funded by Leeds City Council, forms part of plans to plant hundreds of thousands of trees that will support second phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The first of thousands of trees to be planted across the upper River Aire catchment took place in March, as part of the pilot natural flood management project.

Cllr Judith Blake CBE, leader of Leeds City Council, planted the first tree on site at Eshton Beck, Gargrave, in front of volunteers, landowners, local authority representatives and partners.

There are now 450 trees planted at the site, which will play an important role in seeing how natural techniques can slow the flow of water and reduce the risk of flooding downstream.

Farmers or landowners interested in finding out more about the natural flood management pilot can contact the project team by emailing: LeedsFAS.nfm@environment-agency.gov.uk

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Natural flood management plans to go on show in Skipton

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NATURAL measures to reduce flood risk, which include the planting of thousands of trees in the River Aire catchment area, are due to go on show in Skipton next week.

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THE Met Office has issued an amber warning for heavy rain across Craven today.
It says people should be prepared for disruption due to river and surface water flooding.

The rain is expected to clear away towards the southeast by the early hours of tomorrow.The Environment Agency has issued numerous flood warnings.

They include:

The River Wharfe and Town Beck, at Addingham;

The River Wharfe at Bolton Bridge;

Eller Beck in central Skipton, Carleton Business Park, Snaygill Industrial Estate, Engine Shed Lane and Broughton Road;

Ings Beck, Ings Lane, Skipton;

The River Aire at Cross Hills, including Airedale Trading Park, Skipton Road, Kildwick, and Cononley Business Park;

Eastburn Beck at Sutton-in-Craven;

Broughton Beck at Elslack and Broughton Business Park;

River Aire at Gargrave.

In a tweet, Stacey Stothard, of Skipton, says the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, Skipton is nearly overflowing.

"My house is five metres away and six feet lower," she writes.

Environment Agency teams are out working with partners to support communities and reduce the risk of flooding as far as possible. Volunteer flood wardens are operating in Airedale.

Environment Agency duty manager Frank de Planta said: "With heavy rain continuing to fall across West and North Yorkshire today and into tonight, we urge people to remain vigilant and check their flood risk at https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding or follow @EnvAgencyYNE and #floodaware on Twitter for the latest flood updates.
"We also want to remind people never to drive through flood water: just 30 centimetres of flowing water is enough to move your car."

For updated information, visit environment-agency.gov.uk/flood

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UPDATED WITH PICTURES : Amber warning issued for heavy rain in Craven

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THE Met Office has issued an amber warning for heavy rain across Craven today. It says people should be prepared for disruption due to river and surface water flooding. The rain is expected to clear away towards the southeast by the early hours of tomorrow.The Environment Agency has issued numerous flood warnings.

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Snaygill - GaugeMap - River Levels Map for Britain & Ireland

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River Station Snaygill. On the River Aire. Within catchment area Aire and Calder. This station contains a river level gauge and you can embed this gauge on your site. (River Level Gauge)

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Skibeden Beck - GaugeMap - River Levels Map for Britain & Ireland

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River Station Skibeden Beck. On the Haw Beck. Within catchment area Aire and Calder. This station contains a river level gauge and you can embed this gauge on your site. (River Level Gauge)

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Skipton Morrisons - GaugeMap - River Levels Map for Britain & Ireland

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River Station Skipton Morrisons. On the Eller Beck. Within catchment area Aire and Calder. This station contains a river level gauge and you can embed this gauge on your site. (River Level Gauge)

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Long Term Flood Risk Information - GOV.UK

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From the list on the left, select the information you're interested in. The map view will then update.

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Historic Flood Map is a GIS layer showing the maximum extent of all individual Recorded Flood Outlines from river, the sea and groundwater springs and shows areas of land that have previously been subject to flooding in England.