WORK has started on the final phase of moorland restoration work high on Ilkley Moor. Helicopters have been lifting large stones into position to create leaky dams, to slow down the flow of water from the moor, aimed at helping to reduce the risk of flooding in Wharfedale. The leaky stone dams also help to hold water on the hill for longer, stopping current peat from being washed away.
Other activity includes planting sphagnum moss, which forms peat, pathway improvement to reduce erosion and run-off, bracken management, and cutting the heather to create a more diverse moorland vegetation mosaic. The off-cuts are being used to create heather bales which are used to stem the flow of water from the moorland. Similar work has been completed on the Backstone Beck catchment and this latest phase of the project covers the three remaining river catchments that run off Ilkley Moor (Spicey Gill, Mill Gill, and Crawshaw/Heber Moss).
The aim is to complete the works by the end of March 2025 - when this work will have resulted in over 56,000 sphagnum plugs planted, more than 25 hectares of heather management, 352 stone dams, and 65 heather bale dams built, almost a hectare of bracken management, 25 hectares of sitka spruce removal, as well as 200 new trees planted. The moorland restoration project has been a collaborative effort between Bradford Council’s Countryside and Land Drainage teams, Moors for the Future Partnership (the regional moorland restoration partnership), Friends of Ilk.
