Project Overview

Collingham Beck is a tributary of the River Wharfe in West Yorkshire. It has a catchment area of 30km2 (Map 1). The catchment is largely rural, with a mix of pasture and arable land and includes the main villages of Collingham, Bardsey, East Keswick and Scarcroft. The main tributaries of Keswick Beck, Gill Beck and Scarcroft Beck drain roughly west to east before joining the main watercourse (known variously as Bardsey Beck, Keswick Beck and Collingham Beck) which flows approximately north to join the River Wharfe in Collingham.

The catchment contains a number of properties at risk of flooding from both river and surface water flooding. The work proposed in the Collingham NFM project was to deliver a number of NFM measures (scrapes, wet woodlands, leaky dams, buffer strips and tree planting) to reduce the flood impacts in the villages of Collingham, Bardsey, East Keswick and Scarcroft.

Key Achievements in 2018-2021

  • 13 leaky dams
  • 2400 trees
  • 4km of hedge planting (6,800 trees)
  • 6 scrapes
  • >500 volunteer hours
  • Collaboration with Leeds University, MSc dissertation
  • Established circular walking route with signage and information board