SENIOR figures from across the country have converged on Keighley to see how Yorkshire Water is restoring moorland.

The group, known as the Uplands Stakeholder Forum (USF), met on Keighley Moor where members heard about peatland restoration work being carried out by the Bradford-based company.

Among those present were high-ranking officials from Defra, Natural England, the National Farmers Union and the Moorland Association.

To help improve the quality of water flowing from Keighley Moor into reservoirs, 5,000 bagfuls of heather have been mown from the land.

A programme of injecting the cut areas with sphagnum moss has now begun, which will stop new heather growth dominating in the future and reduce the need for burning.

Upland catchment areas like Keighley Moor supply about 70 per cent of the country's drinking water.

When the peatland becomes dry – caused by air pollution, overgrazing and inappropriate heather burning – rainfall washes through the peat on its reservoir-bound journey, increasing discolouration in the water.

Andrew Walker – catchment strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, who led the USF tour of Keighley Moor – said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to show the membership how we've managed to balance the need to protect and enhance peatland.

"We believe peatland with high biodiversity and good land management practices will deliver a diverse and complex community of plants, which will protect and build the peat for future generations and provide a more natural way of filtering and cleaning the water before it gets into our reservoirs.

"This means we can ensure customers receive water of the highest quality.

"Over time, if we can collectively reduce heather coverage and increase peat-building mosses, I hope that eventually burning will not be necessary or at least become a rare management practice."

He added that it is also important to protect peatland because it is a major storer of carbon.

"Damage to peat causes it to release its stored carbon into the atmosphere contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

Over the past decade, Yorkshire Water has worked with partner organisations to restore up to 3,250 hectares of degraded peat in the region.

Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association, said the visiting USF members also heard from a gamekeeper and a tenant sheep farmer.

"It was great to hear from them about the restoration techniques being tried and how they can work hand-in-hand for the wild red grouse as well as grazing," she said.

"Yorkshire Water's all-inclusive approach to sustainable land use and solution finding is an inspiration to all landowners and conservationists."

The USF aims to meet quarterly at locations throughout the country until the end of next year.