Parts of city ‘as vulnerable to flooding as they were in 2015’
A LEEDS MP has demanded answers from the Government over what she claims is its lack of progress on better flood defences for the city in the wake of the devastation of Boxing Day 2015.
Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves raised the issue directly with the Chancellor Phillip Hammond during Treasury Questions in the Commons yesterday.
Ms Reeves pointed out that Kirkstall in her constituency was no better protected from floods today than it was on Boxing Day 2015.
She demanded to know when the Government would fund the proposed Phase Two of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, which would reduce the risk of the city being hit by serious physical and economic flood damage to a onein-200-year event.
Responding to Ms Reeves’ question, the Chancellor committed to investigating the funding of the floods alleviation scheme and promised to write to her with a full response.
Mr Hammond said: “My constituency has also bean affected by flooding and some of the response projects are major engineering projects which take time to develop.
“The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency have funding for flood relief projects but these have to be prioritised and have to be worked up into proper business cases.”
Ms Reeves said after the exchange: “Two years and two months after Leeds was hit by devastating floods, the Government has still not agreed to invest in flood defences that would keep our city safe.
“My letters to Ministers and requests for meetings have all gone unanswered and West Leeds is no better prepared for floods than it was on Boxing Day 2015. That is just not good enough.
“People who live and work in Leeds deserve to feel secure, so today I asked the Chancellor where the money is and when the Government will finally give Leeds the investment we need to protect us from future flooding.”
Separately, Tory York Outer MP Julian Sturdy pressed the Chancellor to consider future housing development when investing to upgrade strategic roads, including the A1237 Northern Ring Road in York.
He told The Yorkshire Post last month that congestion on the road was holding back economic growth and that it needed to become a dual carriageway.
My letters and requests for meetings have all gone unanswered. Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves.