SKIPTON'S £13.8 million flood alleviation scheme faces a new delay.

After struggles to find the cash, the project is now threatened by the discovery of a 145-year-old Victorian reservoir, directly under the site of one of the planned storage reservoirs.

The scheme – first mooted in 2012 and with work due to start last year – is now awaiting comments from Historic England.

The Environment Agency says such discoveries are not uncommon, and it hopes it will not cause any significant delays.

We can only hope that is the case because, as we all know, Skipton has a history of flooding and needs to be protected as soon as possible.