Sheffield have approved a £100,000 beaver pilot project that would see Eurasian beavers reintroduced as a natural flood defence.
After recent flooding incidents in South Yorkshire, Sheffield City Council have decided this project would be beneficial for the city, for both flooding and biodiversity purposes.
Sheffield City Council said the Eurasian beaver, once hunted to extinction in the UK, could play a role in reducing the risk of flooding.
Marieanne Elliot, a representative from the Green Party said: “As a political representative from the green party, I have been promoting what is happening and speaking out about it, saying what its positives are.”
The project will be funded by a Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee Capital Grant by Yorkshire water.
The potential benefits go beyond flooding, including improving water quality, reducing the risk of wildfires and creating habitats where other species can grow.
Mrs Elliot said: ”It is currently a feasibility study that’s been approved which is going to look at various sites to see whether they have potential for beavers to be introduced. This is the first stage to assess the site rather than actually putting them in.”
The dams created by the beavers can help slow down water coming down from upland areas and protect areas, such as Doncaster Rotherham and Sheffield.
Rebecca Rippin, a Zoology Student at the university of Sheffield said: “This could be really great as their dams tend to be good habitats for other animals. Beavers can be seen as a pest a lot of the time so it is nice that the council want to re-introduce them to the area.”
They hope to introduce them in Blacka Moor and the Upper Don Catchment areas.
Additional reporting done by Emily Taylor