FLOOD defences – and the best ways to reinforce them – are once again the centre of attention as MPs on Westminster's environmental audit committee consult on better ways to manage the UK’s environment post-Brexit.

Into that policy vacuum, lobby group Rewilding Britain has just launched a new report claiming that rewilding the UK’s landscapes would help mitigate flood risk by creating greater water holding capacity upstream.

Flooding costs the UK economy more than £1 billion annually, a figure which can rise to nearer £5 billion in a bad year. Traditional approaches to flood defence have focused on managing flood risk using hard defences such as flood walls and river revetments.

Rewilding Britain believe, however, that these solutions do little to challenge underlying causes and can fail, with devastating consequences. Instead, the rewilders advocate managing flood risk by restoring natural upland processes, which they believe can be cheaper and more sustainable.

As an example of what they consider successful rewilding, the campaigners cite the case of the beaver reintroduction trial in Devon, which has seen beavers dramatically alter the landscape, stimulating the revival of a natural wet woodland. The trust says that this has significantly increased water storage while slowing the flow of water downstream – valuable services both at times of drought and after storms – and that during storm events, there is now on average 30% lower peak volume of water leaving the site, compared with entering, reducing flood risk downstream.

Director at Rewilding Britain, Helen Meech, said: “With one in six properties in the UK currently at risk of flooding, a situation likely to be exacerbated by climate change over coming decades, it is time to rethink our approach to managing flood risk.

“Flooding is a natural part of a river’s annual cycle, but problems occur when land is overgrazed, rivers are straightened and trees and wildlife removed. Such measures reduce the capacity of the landscape to absorb excess water and slow floodwater flows. Our report highlights the ways in which rewilding can substantially reduce flood risk downstream, protecting communities at a fraction of the cost of traditional flood defences.

“With MPs currently consulting on new approaches to management of Britain’s natural environment post-Brexit, we feel it is high-time we allowed landscapes the space they need to rewild, creating natural wetlands and bringing back the wildlife that was once common to Britain.”

But the rewilders' enthusiasm is not shared by all concerned parties. NFU Scotland’s deputy director of policy, Andrew Bauer commented: “Whilst a lot has been written about the subject of natural flood management, we are yet to see it coming to fruition in a way that will really make a difference.

"Many of Scotland’s farmers and crofters already play their part in managing flooding for the benefit of others. If this is to be further developed, then it would be important that they receive compensation for this service covering the losses they may incur in sacrificing land to deliver it.

“NFUS is ready and willing to work with any group that wants to find solutions to flooding, whilst also accepting the critical importance of protecting our limited but precious resource of productive farmland.”

For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk