December 2015 was the wettest month on record for some parts of the UK. Heavy rainfall caused disastrous flooding in many places (see WIDEWORLD, Vol. 28, No. 1). Yorkshire was not the worst-hit county but it was nevertheless badly affected. In York, after the rains of Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2015, about 500 homes were flooded when the River Ouse burst its banks. However, just 40 km away, Pickering escaped the floods and a report in April 2016 found that the town’s ‘Slowing the Flow’ scheme played a significant part in keeping the townspeople safe.
Pickering lies at the southern foot of the North York Moors. When it rains there, much of the water finds its way into Pickering Beck, which runs through Newton Dale, a steep-sided gorge that brings the runoff straight into Pickering. (Figure 1). Between 1999 and 2007 Pickering suffered four serious floods. Those in 2007 alone were estimated to have caused £7 million worth of damage.
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