Sheffield: Pilot project to bring back the beaver approved

Eurasian beavers were once hunted to extinction in the UK

A £100,000 pilot project to discover where best to reintroduce wild beavers in Sheffield has been approved.

Sheffield City Council said the Eurasian beaver, once hunted to extinction in the UK, could play a role in reducing the risk of flooding.

The dams they build could help slow the water coming down from upland areas, the council said.

It will be funded by a Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee Capital Grant and by Yorkshire Water.

Blacka Moor and the surrounding Upper Don Catchment are the likeliest places for beavers to be reintroduced for natural flood-risk management, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"With flooding increasing, we really need to take all the opportunities we can," said Green Party councillor Marieanne Elliot.

Eurasian Beavers have already been reintroduced in North Yorkshire, Devon and Derbyshire

Ms Elliot has been leading work by the council to respond to the nature emergency it called five years ago.

"I went to visit a project in North Yorkshire that's five years in and could see how the beavers have positively changed the landscape," she said.

"Not only have they mitigated flood risk by slowing the flow of water by building dams, there is improved biodiversity in the area too, with lots more wildlife."

She said it was "really exciting [and] promising" to have secured £98,700 in funding for the feasibility study.

Eurasian Beavers (Castor Fiber)

• The species, native to Britain, has been successfully reintroduced and protected in many countries, including England and Scotland

• They are a "keystone species", helping support the environment and ecosystems

• The habitats they create support a whole range of other species, from invertebrates to mammals

• Beavers are said to help manage water flow, rivers, and wetland areas, which help to store large volumes of water and slowing the flow of water downstream during heavy rainfall

Source: Sheffield City Council