The return of wild beavers to Sheffield waterways hundreds of years after they were hunted to extinction in the UK has taken a step closer with the approval of a test project.

Sheffield councillors recently approved spending £98.7K on a study on introducing beavers to Blacka Moor and the surrounding Upper Don Catchment as part of natural flood defence plans for the area. The study is being funded by a Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee Capital Grant and by Yorkshire Water.

This will provide the opportunity to examine whether the reintroduction of beavers is feasible close to a major city, where thousands of homes and businesses are at risk of flooding.