ABSTRACT
Agricultural flood defence and land drainage improvement schemes in floodplain areas were a major component of Government support for agriculture and farmers in Britain in the post-World War II period. More recently, however, changing priorities in rural and environmental policy (evident for example in the reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and strategies such as ‘Making Space for Water’; Defra, 2005a) have encouraged a re-appraisal of land management options for floodplain areas. Options such as the restoration of wetland areas for nature conservation or the storage of floodwater to alleviate flooding in lowland urban areas are being considered (Defra, 2009). However, in the face of strengthened prices for agricultural commodities and calls for greater national food security, there is renewed interest in the agricultural potential of Britain’s lowland floodplains and fens. Many of the challenges for land use management and policy in Britain are currently being played out in these areas.
