Hebden Bridge residents and Calderdale Council both want Natural England to make sure that uplands management reduces the risk of flooding in the Upper Calder Valley.

In a submission to Natural England’s Uplands Review, more than 90 Hebden Bridge Residents have asked Natural England to urgently review the terms of the Walshaw Moor Estate Environmental Stewardship Agreement (ESA). The residents say that the ESA doesn’t take proper account of local people’s needs for upland management that will reduce the risk of flooding in the Upper Calder Valley, and as a result, the £2.5m that the ESA will pay to Walshaw Moor Estate over the next ten years “represents exceptionally poor value for public money.”