A campaign to clean-up the River Nidd has received a £500,000 boost — from a penalty paid by Yorkshire Water for polluting Harrogate..

Yorkshire Water revealed last week it had agreed to give £1 million to charities for polluting Hookstone Beck in Harrogate.

The sum — to atone for an unauthorised sewage discharge that killed fish in the beck — was divided equally between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust.

A meeting in Knaresborough yesterday heard Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, which is based in Pateley Bridge, will use the funding to lead the iNidd project to clean-up the River Nidd.

Charlotte Simons, senior project manager at the trust, told the meeting:

The trust, which runs improvement projects across the catchments of the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse, will work with anglers, academics and wild swimmers as well as Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency on the iNidd scheme.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, is also involved through his campaign to achieve bathing water status on the Nidd at Knaresborough Lido.

The trust previously led the iWharfe project to improve the River Wharfe.

Yorkshire Water's iNidd funding will pay for water quality schemes and other initiatives, such as habitat improvements and tackling invasive non-native species.

Nidd Action Group organised yesterday’s meeting at the Centre on Gracious Street, which gave members of the public the chance to quiz those involved in the iNidd campaign.

It followed a previous meeting at the same venue in spring this year, which marked the start of the clean-up campaign.

David Clayden, chair of the action group, said:

Read more:

• Yorkshire Water begins £19m works in bid to improve River Nidd quality


• Yorkshire Water's £1m pay-out to charities branded 'pathetic'