£200m flood protection scheme completed

A major project to protect Leeds and surrounding areas from the risk of extreme flooding is now complete.

The Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, led by Leeds City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency, has involved more than a decade of work and an investment of £200m including the use of state-of-the-art engineering and infrastructure.

It offers dedicated flood defences to help protect more than 4,000 homes and over 1,000 businesses along the River Aire catchment in Leeds and neighbouring communities. It will also help protect more than 33,000 jobs in Leeds alone.

The scheme is designed to protect against events such as Storm Eva during Christmas 2015, which caused an estimated £36.8m in direct costs of damage in Leeds and more than £500m in recovery costs to the wider region.

Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme has been carried out in two phases.

The first saw the creation of new moveable weir gates across the river at Crown Point and Knostrop together with merging work to the river and canal at Knostrop supported by new flood walls and embankments covering 4.5kilometres through Leeds city centre and downstream to Woodlesford in keeping with the surrounding areas.

A second phase covering the city centre and upstream has been much larger in scope.

Construction began in 2019, with engineering and infrastructure works carried out along 14 further kilometres of the river from Leeds City Station upstream along the A65 Kirkstall Road corridor to Apperley Bridge.

It includes new raised flood defence walls, embankments, flow control structures and the removal of obstructions at various points through Armley, Kirkstall, Newlay and Apperley Bridge as well as protecting the historic Kirkstall Abbey site.

A key feature of phase two is the largest infrastructure element of the scheme – creation of a controlled flood storage area near to Calverley.

It has been designed to hold up to up to 1,800,000 cubic metres of floodwater (equivalent to 720 Olympic-sized swimming pools) temporarily in the event of extreme rainfall and river levels.

The 200-metre long structure features two new moveable flood gates which can be raised and lowered to slowly release the water downstream in a controlled way once the threat of flooding has passed.

Alongside the infrastructure and engineering works, the scheme also has a strong focus on using the environment and nature to help protect against flooding.

Stretching from Apperley Bridge to the source of the River Aire at Malham, measures includes planting of around 750,000 trees and soil and land management measures across 1,700 football fields’ worth of land in the upper Aire catchment.

This work, managed by the Environment Agency in partnership with Leeds City Council, White Rose Forest and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, will capture and slow the flow of water down the river and aims to reduce peak flows by up to 5%.

A further economic benefit includes bringing land previously unsuitable for development due to flood risk back into potential use, opening up land to support the growth of the city with estimated regeneration benefits of £774m over 10 years and potentially more than 3,000 new jobs.

Protection offered by the scheme also offers increased resilience for key infrastructure in Leeds including power supplies, communications networks, and key travel routes.

Leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor James Lewis, said: “This is a very important and proud day for our city as the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme can now help protect thousands of homes, communities, businesses and jobs across Leeds and beyond from the increasing threat posed by flooding and climate change.

“This has been a mammoth project, one of the biggest ever undertaken in Leeds in terms of its importance, scale and ambition, and everyone involved in it can rightly be proud of the part they have played.”

Mike Dugher, Yorkshire area director for the Environment Agency, said: “Communities across Yorkshire have repeatedly experienced the devastating effects flooding has on lives and livelihoods.

“The Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme exemplifies the power of partnership in achieving remarkable outcomes, integrating civil engineering works with natural flood risk management in the upper catchments, significantly reducing flood risk to Leeds city centre and the surrounding areas.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “We’re building a greener, more secure West Yorkshire that’s resilient to the effects of climate change.

“Today, thousands of households and businesses across Leeds can breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that their great city is better protected than ever against flooding.”

John Wilkinson, chief operating officer, BAM UK & Ireland, and Richard Risdon, Mott MacDonald UK & Europe managing director, said: “We’re proud to be part of this major engineering project that has been led by Leeds City Council and the Environment Agency to use innovative engineering solutions in combination with natural flood management.

“The impact of Leeds Flood Alleviation scheme extends far beyond our involvement over the last 10 years.

“This enhanced flood protection provides climate resilient flood protection for the city, and helps further unlock Leeds’s immense regeneration potential in the years ahead.”

Will Barnett, director of water, UK & Ireland, AECOM, added: “The Leeds flood alleviation scheme sets a new standard for integrating traditional engineering methods and nature-based solutions at a catchment-wide scale.

“We’re proud to have played our part in the delivery of this critical flood defence project, reducing the risk of flooding to the people, homes and businesses of Leeds for decades to come.”

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