Proposals for the second phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme are going on show this month to communities upstream of the city centre.

A series of drop in events are being held in Kirkstall, Horsforth, Rodley and Apperley Bridge areas of Leeds, giving residents the opportunity to view options to reduce the risk of flooding to their homes and businesses.

An eight week consultation runs from today, Thursday 21 September until 16 November.

Members of the project team will be available at the following events to explain the options, answer any questions and seek views. Residents and business owners are invited to stop by within the following times to find out what is proposed:

• Monday 2 October, 3pm to 7pm, Horsforth Community Hub, Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5BL
• Thursday 12 October, 3pm to 7pm, Radio Aire, 51 Burley Road, Leeds, LS3 1LR
• Thursday 19 October, 10am to 1pm, George & Dragon pub (car park), Apperley Rd, Bradford BD10 0PU
• Thursday 19 October, 2.30pm to 5.30pm, The Church (car park), Wesley Street, Rodley, LS13 1JH
• Saturday 28 October, 9am to 1pm, Kirkstall Leisure Centre, Kirkstall Ln, Leeds LS5 3BE
• Sunday 29 October, 12pm to 3pm, Kirkstall Abbey Deli Market, Abbey Rd, Leeds LS5 3EH

With the £50 million first phase of the scheme, which has introduced state-of-the-art new flood protection for the city centre, Holbeck and downstream at Woodlesford set to be completed next month, Leeds City Council working with the Environment Agency, BMM jV Limited, Thomas Mackay and Arup, have released details of the further measures required for phase two.

The proposals for phase two represent the outcome of an extensive survey and feasibility study of the river catchment carried out by Leeds City Council and the Environment Agency following the devastating impact of Storm Eva at Christmas 2015, to determine the level of future protection needed to provide vital reassurance to residents and businesses.

They include measures further upstream including the Kirkstall corridor which was badly hit by the floods as well as Stourton, an industrial area that was badly affected on Boxing Day 2015.

Phase two will also look at areas beyond the city boundary to further reduce the possibility of the river flooding in Leeds, as well as additional measures to offer protection for the South Bank area of the city centre which is a key future economic driver for Leeds.
The range of measures proposed are a mixture of natural flood management and new infrastructure including:

• Creating new woodland areas by planting hundreds of thousands of tree saplings.
• Where possible, using sites in Leeds to retain flood waters when levels are high. Control gates would be used to fill and then release water from the stores back into river when safe to do so.
• A new 700-metre long flood defence at Stourton with new walls and surface water interventions similar to those installed at Woodlesford as part of phase one.
• Removing existing obstructions along the river to help reduce water levels, along with also lowering the riverbed in places to improve its capacity and flow.
• Improving riverbank protection measures along the river catchment in Craven and Pendle along with enhanced woodland areas and installing debris dams.
• Constructing raised defences along with landscaping, terracing, embankments and walls, but due to the range of natural measures the height of any engineered defences will not need to be as high as previously projected.

Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Councillor Richard Lewis said:

The response to these plans when they were released last week was very positive, especially the use of new trees and natural flood management measures along the catchment to help provide essential protection for communities in Leeds.

It is now vitally important we hear the views of residents and businesses so I would encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation and attend these drop-in sessions.

Following an extensive study agreed with the government and other agencies these are the measures identified as being necessary to offer the level of protection needed which the government said it would provide, so we look forward to seeing these plans develop as soon as possible.

The impact of Storm Eva in Leeds at Christmas 2015 affected 3,355 properties in Leeds, of which 672 were commercial businesses. The direct cost to the city was an estimated £36.8 million, with the cost to the wider city region being more than £500 million.
Following the flooding in December 2015, the government committed £35 million between now and 2021 to a new scheme to further enhance flood protection in Leeds.

Field teams will be building 400 metres of temporary barrier close to Greatbridge Road, to train new and existing members of staff on its construction. For a short period of time the road itself will be closed, to allow the barrier to be built across the carriageway and to ensure that the exercise mimics as closely as possible what would happen in a real flood event.

The exercise will be run in conjunction with local partners including Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Borough Council, Romsey Town Council and local businesses.

The barrier is one of the temporary options to help reduce the risk of flooding to residents and businesses in Romsey, specifically around the Budds Lane and Greatbridge Road area which was flooded in 2014.

Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Manager Gordon Wilson said:

It’s unlikely that we’ll see a repeat of the extreme weather conditions that caused the 2014 flooding in Hampshire, but the exercise will make sure that we’re ready, should the worst happen this winter. In partnership with Hampshire County Council and Test Valley Borough Council, we are developing a flood alleviation scheme which will help protect more than 100 homes against flooding. We are looking to start construction works in early summer next year (2018), although this is dependent upon us securing sufficient local financial contributions, to top up the funding allocated by the Government.

Tom Simms, Head of Resilience for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

We work extremely hard with our partners all year round to ensure our communities are well prepared to deal with emergencies such as the floods experienced in Romsey and other parts of the county in 2014. This work ranges from producing localised actions plans for communities to exercises like this, which all helps to provide the necessary resilience for any unexpected or sudden events.

Deputy Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Nick Adams-King said:

We have built strong relationships with our partners through the Test Valley Flood Resilience Forum which helps all of the agencies to work together for the benefit of our residents, and this exercise will put this into practice. One of our ambitions in the Romsey Future Document is to develop the town’s resilience to managing the extremes of weather and this includes addressing potential environmental risks such as flooding.

Councillor Rob Humby, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council, said:

We are committed to helping reduce the risk of flooding across Hampshire and I’m pleased to be working collaboratively with our partners to help the residents and businesses of Romsey. We are making good progress with plans for a package of measures to mitigate the impact of flooding in Romsey and I hope local people will be able to come along to our public exhibition in Crosfield Hall between 11 and 14 October to find out more.

The barrier construction is part of a 3 day exercise that will fully test all physical aspects of a localised flood event. The build will begin at 9am and continue until midnight. Greatbridge Road will be closed from around 7pm until midnight.

For all media enquiries please contact 0800 141 2743 or email southeastpressoffice1@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, will be visiting Derbyshire on Friday 22 September to present at a conference as part of the three-day BogFest 2017 event in Edale.

BogFest 2017, organised by the Moors for the Future Partnership and the International Union for Conservation of Nature UK Peatland Programme, forms a conference programme for invited delegates alongside a range of activities and sessions for the public to celebrate the iconic moorland of the Peak District and South Pennines.

Emma Howard Boyd will be presenting at the conference along with the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area Manager, Louise Cresswell, and other Environment Agency officers. Emma will be presenting on the benefits and progress made in using natural flood risk management and also chair other sessions at the conference.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

I am looking forward to visiting Derbyshire and attending the BogFest 2017 conference. The Environment Agency has been working with the Moors for the Future Partnership as a significant partner for over 10 years, and we have supported a range of research and delivery projects.

Whilst our involvement initially focussed on the biodiversity- and carbon-related benefits of the peatland restoration, it has increasingly focussed on the water quality and natural flood risk management benefits.

Through our ongoing involvement in the partnership, we are able to influence as to where resources are devoted in the moorland landscape. We benefit from the influence offered by working within the partnership to achieve this, and from the work of the programme team in securing significant resources from funding bids.

The partnership’s strength lies in its relevance to people and wildlife across the Dark Peak and South Pennines. The region is one of the most visited areas of moorland in the world offering a range of ecosystem services to a vast local population.

The partnership also provides a great networking opportunity between landowners and policy-making bodies and allows us to influence the various needs of research to supply evidence which supports the management of the moorland.

Chris Dean, Moors for the Future Partnership’s Head of Programme Delivery, said:

We are delighted to welcome Emma Howard Boyd to BogFest – our first festival-style conference, celebrating the iconic uplands and brilliant blanket bogs across the UK.

The conference takes place in Edale, at the foot of the South Pennines, where blanket bog is slowly recovering from devastation caused by pollution dating back to the industrial revolution and damage from wildfires.

With the support of the Environment Agency, together we have restored much of the most severely damaged blanket bog, facilitated the regeneration of upland clough woodlands, and inspired the public to get involved in the UK’s first upland citizen science initiative.

Thanks to the funding from the Environment Agency and our other partners and funders, our work has far-reaching benefits including natural flood risk management, water quality, biodiversity, carbon storage, and health and well-being.

Background

The Moors for the Future Partnership delivers its work through the Peak District National Park Authority as the lead and accountable body. It is supported through its partners including the Environment Agency, Natural England, National Trust, RSPB, Severn Trent Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Pennine Prospects and representatives of the moorland owner and farming community.

BogFest is financed by Moors for the Future Partnership’s MoorLIFE2020 project, a 5-year programme that aims to protect remaining active blanket bog in the South Pennines Special Area of Conservation. The project is delivered by the Peak District National Park Authority as the lead and accountable body. On-the-ground delivery of the project is being undertaken largely by the Moors for the Future Partnership staff team with works also undertaken by the National Trust High Peak and Marsden Moor Estate, the RSPB Dove Stone team and Pennine Prospects (the Associated Beneficiaries).

The Moors for the Future Partnership has been working since 2003 to protect the most degraded landscape in Europe. Using innovative conservation techniques it has transformed over 32sq km of black degraded peat in the Peak District National Park and South Pennines. A monitoring programme provides evidence of the effectiveness of these techniques and is backed up by innovative communications that inspire people to care for these special places.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) sets monthly catch limits for quota species to ensure the UK stays within the overall limit set by the EU. These limits apply to all under 10 meter vessels and the over 10 meter vessels that are not in a co-operative (Producer Organisation).

Please contact the MMO if you have any comment to make about the suggested catch limits which will be put into force on 1 October 2017.

Comments to be received no later than 5pm Thursday 28 September 2017.

A new scheme that will improve flood protection, boost wildlife habitats and create 160 hectares of new saltmarsh, was opened today (Thursday 21st September).

The new reserve not only creates new saltmarsh habitat but strengthens sea defences. The £6 million scheme at Hesketh, in Lancashire, is a partnership project between the RSPB, Natural England and the Environment Agency.

The RSPB’s Hesketh Out Marsh Reserve and Natural England’s Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve (NNR) are a real world demonstration of the newly-launched joint strategy for NNRs. The Environment Agency has breached the banks at Hesketh Out Marsh East. This important work has been made possible by:

• almost £2 million funding from Landfill Communities Fund monies from FCC Environment through WREN
• £3.7 million government funding to reduce flood risk

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Hesketh is an inspiring project, creating fantastic new habitats for wildlife and providing increased flood protection for hundreds of people living around the Ribble Estuary.

This £6 million scheme shows how embracing new ideas and working with partners can create tremendous benefits for the environment.

Natural England’s Chairman, Andrew Sells, said:

England’s National Nature Reserves are the most special places for nature, which also help improve the wellbeing of people making more than 17 million visits every year. Uniting these two reserves on the Ribble will create wonderful new habitat, reduce the risk of flooding and enhance the area’s appeal to wildlife.

It is also an extremely symbolic moment, demonstrating how conservation will work in the future. Bringing together a number of important organisations and the local community, with the aim of providing a far greater home for nature, is at the heart of the new Joint NNR strategy. It will enable us all to deliver more public benefits, such as improved health and wellbeing, and allow wildlife to spill over and enrich the surrounding countryside.

On completion, the full RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh Reserve will include 340 hectares of saltmarsh, making it the largest site of its kind in the north of England. Natural England will designate the reserve as part of the existing Ribble Estuary NNR later in 2017. The RSPB and Natural England will then jointly manage both sites as effectively one large reserve. Ribble Estuary NNR is already England’s third largest National Nature Reserve.

Robin Horner, RSPB Area Manager said:

We’re delighted to be celebrating this partnership work and all that has been achieved through this project. These improved coastal defences, fronted by saltmarsh, deliver much needed local climate change adaptation and provide invaluable new wildlife habitat close to Britain’s most important single river estuary for birds.

Work at Hesketh Outmarsh East has involved strengthening and raising the height of 2km of flood banks. This has reduced the flood risk to more than 140 properties and 300 hectares of prime farmland nearby. This is known as ‘managed realignment’, and is one of the largest schemes of its kind in the UK.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

Hesketh is a win, win scenario – a fantastic scheme which not only works with nature to reduce flood risk but also brings benefits to the wider environment and local communities. Through partnership working we can achieve more and Hesketh proves that.