Ecologists say that returning about 100,000 acres of the Cambrian Mountain range to peat bogs and traditional habitat would hold back enormous amounts of rainwater and melting snow to prevent flooding down the Severn Valley.

Glyn Davies, Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire, has called for cross-border commitment to the proposed Pumlumon Project between the UK and Welsh Governments.

The project, led by the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, aims to pioneer an upland economy built around wildlife, ecology and long-term sustainability on land stretching from Llanidloes to the coast.

It would create more natural landscapes, more diverse wildlife, cleaner water and also store carbon, the trust says.

During a House of Commons debate on Welsh Affairs this week, Mr Davies raised the importance of cross-border co-operation to secure funding for the Pumlumon Project, proposing it as a scheme suitable for support within a Mid Wales Growth Deal.

Could flooding in Shrewsbury be a thing of the past

He said: "The Pumlumon Project is a ground breaking scheme which would bring economic benefit to the uplands of mid Wales, ecological benefit and flood prevention benefits to the whole of the Severn valley.

"But it cannot be delivered without financial and political support from both sides of the England-Wales border. The area concerned is about 100,000 acres of mostly peaty land, between Machynlleth, Llanidloes and Aberystwyth. It is a huge expanse, which over the decades, has been extensively drained. The water that falls upon it during heavy rain, runs off much too quickly, causing flooding in England.

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“There would be great benefit in re-wetting this land, making financial allowance to those farming it, under a Pumlumon Project, creating more natural diversity, and a sustainable funding stream to local communities. A properly funded Pumlumon scheme would enable more farmers to remain within the project area, strengthening local communities. There is already much local support for the principles underpinning such the scheme.

“The major benefit, however, would fall in England, to those towns and cities downstream in the Severn valley.

"It would be unreasonable to expect a Welsh Government to meet all the cost of a scheme which largely benefits England. We need a cross-border arrangement between the UK and Welsh Governments.

"The Pumlumon Project is an ideal scheme to be funded as part of the Mid Wales Growth Deal.”