The National Trust, Yorkshire Water and the Woodland Trust are working together to create 350 hectares of woodland, install thousands of natural flood management interventions and restore peatland.

Two public meetings in April will give people chance to learn more about plans

A partnership project between the National Trust, Yorkshire Water and the Woodland Trust has announced a landmark programme of work to restore and improve the UK’s uplands.

The ‘Landscapes for Water’ programme will focus on restoring five areas in the South Pennines, from Hepstonstall Moor in the north to Marsden Moor in the south, including planting 350 hectares of native trees in the small valleys, or ‘cloughs’.

Long term, it’s hoped this new woodland could provide homes for threatened species including black grouse, pine marten and red squirrel. It’s also hoped it will boost populations for birds like redstart, pied flycatcher, ring ouzel and nightjar.

As well as the benefits for wildlife, the new woodland will capture carbon, improve water quality and provide flood protection for homes in the South Pennines by slowing the flow of water across the landscape. The trees will form part of the White Rose Forest.

There are also plans to install 3,500 leaky dams across the five areas, which will further reduce flood risk by encouraging water to soak slowly into the landscape. This will also help to reduce the risk of fire and drought, as well as improving the conditions for forming peat.

As part of the project, the programme team will be hosting community planting and education days with local residents where people can learn more about the project and its ambitions to restore this precious landscape.