Government-backed report calls for tree planting among flood measures

By Gavin McEwan

The importance of tree planting in upland Cumbria to alleviate future flood threats is acknowledged in a new Environment Agency report.

The Cumbria Flood Action Plan sets out short-term actions to better protect 4,300 homes in one of the regions worst affected by the devastating 2015-16 floods, as well as long-term actions to help communities develop better ways of managing rivers and the land.

It proposes several measures including "us[ing] uplands to slow the flow by planting trees, installing woody dams and restoring peatland".