Mini dams may have prevented wildfire spread

Conservation work officer Jim Randle at Moors for the Future said he was 'grieving' after a major wildfire in the Goyt Valley

Restoration work on a Peak District moor could have prevented more damage being caused by a wildfire, according to an environmental group.

A fire broke out in the Goyt Valley in Derbyshire on April 30 and caused damage to an area roughly the size of 325 football pitches.

However, the Moors for the Future Partnership had built a series of mini dams as part of a programme of work that started two years ago.

The partnership's conservation work officer, Jim Randle, said because there was more water on the moor it may have helped stop the fire spreading further, but added it will still take years for the landscape to fully recover.

Small dams were introduced to land in the Goyt Valley by the Moors for the Future Partnership

He added: "It is grief almost because you know how important this place is to people.

"It is a very popular spot for lots of people."

The Moors for the Future partnership is led by the Peak District National Park Authority but is funded from a variety of sources including the National Trust and the Environment Agency.

On upland and exposed moors there is bare peat and Moors for the Future works to encourage grass, heather and other vegetation to grow in the peat.

To allow this to happen it has created water dams on the moors by blocking gullies and water channels.

The fire was largely contained within the Goyt Valley and didn't spread on to the open moorland between Buxton and Macclesfield.

Mr Randle added: "There are many, many areas where we have put in dams that were holding water that would not have otherwise been there.

"It has been exceptionally dry in lots of areas where we were working.

"The fire may well have been worse and buried deeply into the peat in some areas [if it had not been for the dams]."

There are two reservoirs at the base of the Goyt Valley owned by United Utilities, which also owns the surrounding land.

Ed Lawrance, a catchment officer for the company, said: "It is just an incredibly sad situation.

"We have seen them before, these big moorland fires, and know how devastating they are for the wildlife and the habitat up here, for the people who visit, for the people who work and manage this area.

"So it is always an awful experience when we get a big wildfire like this."

A Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "The fire service supports the regeneration of moorland in the Peak District and work undertaken through the Moors for the Future Partnership.

"This vital work to restore the moors includes re-wetting which can help to reduce the risk and severity of wildfires."

Catchment officer for United Utilities, Ed Lawrance, described the wildfire in the Goyt Valley as "devastating"