FURTHER flood defence schemes could be planned for York and North Yorkshire - as councils team up to bid for cash from Government.

Innovative ideas to tackle flooding in the city and region could include changes to farming practices, peatland restoration and the creation of floodwater storage areas.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made £150 million available nationally for 25 projects to create flood resilience schemes during the next six years.

Steve Wragg, flood risk manager at City of York Council, told a meeting last week that York would submit a bid in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council.

He said: "The defences in York are fantastic and essential. But going forward, as climate change takes hold, we'll need to do more within the wider catchment area upstream of York to actually hold the additional waters back, that will be seen as climate change comes in.

"We're looking for different approaches, different ways of warning and informing, different ways of forecasting, different ways of communicating flood risk."

The project is set to involve studies by the University of York. The bid will be submitted by January 29 and if successful, the first round of funding is due to be awarded in April.