Councils join forces to learn lessons from floods

Councils from across the Leeds City Region - which includes West Yorkshire and neighbouring authorities - are launching the review to look at whether there are measures they can take together to reduce the risk and impact of flooding.

The impact on the Leeds City Region economy from the Boxing Day floods could be as high as £365 million this year.

The review will consider the case for insisting on measures that reduce either the risk of flooding or the disruption caused by flooding being part of housing, transport and other infrastructure schemes.

Coun Robert Light, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s overview and scrutiny committee which will discuss the scope of the Leeds City Region review this week, said: “Through this review we can make sure we minimise the risk and damage of future flooding while at the same time ensuring that through our regional approach that any measures taken are based on river catchments and not simply shifting problems downstream or creating new ones elsewhere.”