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Farmer and group build natural flood defences

Thomas RidleyNorth East and Cumbria
BBC Farmer Alan Bowman stands on his land at Brampton Fell Moss in Brampton, Cumbria. He is wearing a green waterproof jacket, a black fleece and a grey hat. Bowman has a short moustache and wears black sunglasses. He stands in front of a large bog which has green moss and beige grasses.BBC
Farmer Alan Bowman said he wanted to help after being flooded twice in his childhood home

A farmer and village group have built their own flood defences following a £250,000 government grant.

Brampton 2 Zero Community Interest Company worked with Alan Bowman, who has farmed his land for 33 years, to install earth barriers and restore a natural bog at Brampton Beck and Brampton Fell Moss.

Phil Furneaux, who led the group's scheme, said Brampton faced an increased flood risk from the beck which flows under the town centre and he "feels confident that future deluges will be held back".

It comes as the climate phenomenon El Niño is predicted to increase the chance of wet, mild and potentially stormy weather for the UK.

The low-level earth barrier, known as a bund, was created at Brampton Beck near the railway station to regulate the amount of water flowing during high rainfall, the group said.

At Brampton Fell Moss, smaller bunds were also created, shallow ponds were dug to be filled with natural bog plants such as sphagnum moss, and leaky dams were built to hold back water.

The bund - also known as a low-level earth barrier - shown from above in Brampton. There is a small concrete drainage system which has height to it and a stream of water enters it. There is grass surrounding it.
The bund, also known as a low-level earth barrier, shown from above

The scheme, which began in 2021, was project-managed by Eden Rivers Trust, advised by Natural England and awarded £250,000 by the Environment Agency.

Bowman told of how his childhood home near Kirkoswald was flooded in 1963, and again a few years later, after everything had been restored.

"It's horrendous the mess it makes when you get flooded, and that's what partly triggered my interest in this," he said.

He said he hoped the area could be a place where people come to relax.

A shallow pond at Brampton Fell Moss. It is a large piece of land that has large grassy bumps and a large bog where reeds and moss is growing. The land continues to a horizon where there are lots of trees.
Shallow ponds are to be filled with natural bog plants such as sphagnum moss

"It could be a place for groups to come for talks and walks but also a place to come and appreciate nature and let nature heal," Bowman continued.

"Who is going to do this sort of thing if farmers don't?"

Furneaux said: "We're going to have to protect ourselves against flooding," describing the project as a "simple idea and relatively cheap compared to what would happen if houses got flooded".

He continued: "We know from the data we received from our water flow measurements that the water was held back by the bund which we installed as part of the scheme during the recent Storm Boelo on 23 October.

"So we feel confident that future deluges will be held back by the scheme," Furneaux said.

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