Funding floods in

The EPSRC has awarded £2.5m to the University of Sheffield to redevelop the River Don floodplain in South Yorkshire.

The four-year project, led by the Environment Agency and University of Sheffield’s research initiative, Catchment Science Centre (CSC), will conduct research into the potential use of the area as a place for people to live and work, as well as examine the environmental issues of building on a floodplain.

‘Almost all of Sheffield’s strategic redevelopment areas are in the river corridors of the Don, Sheaf and Porter,’ said Prof David Lerner, project leader at the Catchment Science Centre. ‘The project provides a chance to think hard about what to consider in the future and how to get the right balance of social, economic and environmental benefits.’

According to Martin Slater, manager of the Environment Agency’s Area Planning and Corporate Services, climate change problems will also be taken into consideration during the project.