Work has started on the next stage of a major scheme to reduce the risk of flooding in Leeds, BAM Nuttall Ltd reports.
Construction on the second phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme will see flood defenses being built on the River Aire upstream of Leeds Station as part of a catchment wide approach to reducing flood risk.
Leeds City Council is working alongside the Environment Agency on the scheme which aims to invest £112.1 million in flood prevention measures for areas upstream of Leeds city center, to better protect 1,048 homes and 474 businesses.
The Phase 2 proposals are split into two steps and feature measures such as new defense walls, embankments and a large flood storage area.
The first step of Phase 2, at a cost of £87 million, will give protection against a one-in-100 chance of flooding in any given year along an 8 km stretch upstream of Leeds station including three key areas – Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, Kirkstall Abbey and Kirkstall Meadows. These works are expected to be complete by winter 2022.
The second stage involves creating flood storage at Calverley, making use of an existing flood plain, and works at Apperley Bridge, which will bring the level of protection up to a one-in-200 chance of flooding in any given year, equivalent to the Boxing Day floods that hit areas such as Kirkstall in December 2015.
Today, works have started in the Wellington Bridge Street area upstream of the city center, on a flood defense wall running along the River Aire, BAM said.