Doncaster flood defences to be boosted with share of £25 million project

40 projects across England - including one in Bentley – are set to benefit from the funding which will nature to increase the nation’s flood resilience.

Successful applicants for the Natural Flood Management programme, managed by the Environment Agency, include wildlife, river and woodland charities, community groups, and local authorities.

Natural Flood Management uses the power of nature to help reduce the flood risk to communities and infrastructure while also delivering wider benefits to people and the environment, supporting the government’s plan to boost flood resilience.

The project in Bentley is one of forty projects which will use natural processes such as planting trees and creating wetlands to reduce the risk of flooding, Floods Minister Robbie Moore has announced.

Part of the government’s plan to increase the nation’s flood resilience, natural flood management processes protect, restore, and mimic the natural functions of catchments, floodplains and the coast to slow and store water.

Community, charity and council projects set to benefit from the £25 million Natural Flood Management programme include:

City of Doncaster Council has proposed two interlinked projects that will work together.

One will be on Bentley Mill Stream and will include the creation of wetland and wet woodland habitat.

The second will improve flood plain connectivity, create wetland scrapes and improve public access on council-owned land in Bentley.

This will restore the connection between the watercourse and its floodplain, encouraging more regular floodplain inundation and flood water storage upstream. This will increase Bentley's flood resilience.

The announcement comes after a wide range of applications were submitted to the Environment Agency by community groups, environmental charities and councils for grants, following the launch of the largest-ever investment in natural flood management schemes in September last year. The Environment Agency led a review of these applications, with input from Defra and Natural England.

Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell said: “It’s exciting to see such appetite for Natural Flood Management, recognising its value in providing not only benefits against flood risk but also wider support for nature recovery.

“I’m proud of the role the Environment Agency is playing in leading this pioneering programme. We look forward to working with partners to help natural techniques become a mainstream option for flood protection and help create more climate resilient places.”

Floods Minister Robbie Moore said: “It’s vital we use nature as an ally in our work to become ready for climate change, helping to restore the natural environment and protecting homes and businesses. That’s why we’re funding the biggest-ever investment in natural flood management – and it’s great to see the huge demand.

“These schemes will complement traditional bricks-and-mortar defences, all funded by our £5.2 billion flood programme. This programme is one more part of our plan to bolster flood resilience and shield communities – all whilst boosting biodiversity, restoring habitats and protecting the environment for future generations.”

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Rivers Trust, said: “We warmly welcome this significant fund which will not only protect people and businesses from flooding, but will also make more space for nature, purify pollutants, recharge groundwater aquifers, lock up organic carbon and create amenity value for communities.”

The new funding builds on the £15m natural flood management pilot programme which ran until 2021, creating the equivalent of 1.6 million cubic metres of water storage and reducing flood risk to 15,000 homes.

The Environment Agency is managing the new £25 million programme with work taking place from now until March 2027.

The programme will help meet the goals of the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England, which provides a longer-term vision of how we will better protect and prepare homes and businesses from flooding and coastal change and create climate resilient places.

It also supports the Government Policy Statement on Flood and Coastal Erosion Management, which highlights the importance of harnessing the power of nature, and the Environmental Improvement Plan, which recognises the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change with the use of nature-based solutions. Investing in natural flood management will support the government’s plan to better protect communities while tackling climate change and benefitting nature.

To find out more about the Natural Flood Management Programme and for a full list of successful projects refer to our Gov.uk pages.