Work starts on vital flood protection work for Leeds

The second stage of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme will see defences built on the River Aire upstream of the city’s railway station as part of an over-arching project to prevent a repeat of the devastating deluge which happened just over four years ago after Storm Eva on Boxing Day 2015.

Leeds Council is working with the Environment Agency on the scheme which aims to invest £112.1m in flood prevention measures for areas upstream of Leeds city centre, to protect a total of 1,048 homes and 474 businesses.

Council leader Judith Blake said that while the next phase of the scheme was vital to provide protection for communities along the so-called Kirkstall Corridor, which suffered most severely after the devastating Boxing Day floods, more funding needed to be secured to ensure the whole city had adequate defences.

Coun Blake said: “This is the first step of a two-step process which we are determined to see completed in full.

“We continue to call on the Government to provide the remaining funding or meet with us to discuss options so we can ensure all communities vulnerable to flooding from the River Aire have the highest possible level of flood defences in place, and our city is as resilient as we can make it to the increasing threat of extreme weather events due to climate change.”

The first step of the scheme’s second phase will cost £87m to protect against a one-in-100 chance of flooding in any given year along an five-mile stretch including three key areas – Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, Kirkstall Abbey and Kirkstall Meadows.

These works are expected to be complete by the winter of 2022.

The second stage involves creating flood storage at Calverley, by making use of an existing flood plain, and also works at Apperley Bridge, which will bring the level of protection up to a one-in-200 chance of flooding in any given year.

That would be the equivalent to the Boxing Day floods that hit areas such as Kirkstall in December 2015.

Works start today in the Wellington Bridge Street area upstream of the city centre, on a defence wall running along the Aire.

The impact of Storm Eva in December 2015 affected 3,355 properties in Leeds, including 672 commercial businesses.

The direct cost to the city was an estimated £36.8m, with the cost to the wider city region put at more than £500m.

The flood defence project has received an initial £65m from the Government as well as funding from Leeds Council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Network Rail. The city council maintained that it remains committed to examining all options to secure the funding to deliver the scheme in full. The work follows the completion of the first phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme in October 2017, where defences were installed along the River Aire in the city for the first time.

The project includes a flagship programme which will use nature to help slow water flows and combat climate change, including the creation of new woodland.

However, officials have admitted that some trees may need to be removed as part of efforts to maintain the river channel.

But they confirmed that for every tree cut down, three will be planted, and the majority of vegetation that is lost will be recycled.

A Defra spokesman said: “The 2015 Boxing Day floods are a devastating reminder of the damage flooding can cause, which is why we are already investing heavily to provide better flood protection for Leeds.

“Since the floods, we have invested more than £35m in a scheme to better protect the city centre and have committed a further £65m for a second phase to protect a wider area including the Kirkstall Road.”

He added that talks are continuing to secure the remainder of the funding to carry out the second step and complete the scheme in full which, pending further planning approval, would double the standard of protection offered by the whole Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The first phase of the work saw flood defences installed along the River Aire in Leeds for the first time.