Reservoir approved to reduce flood risk

COUNCILLORS IN Leeds have unanimously voted to approve a new 100-acre reservoir as part of the latest steps to prevent future flooding in the city.

The council’s City Plans Panel met to discuss plans for the section of the River Aire running between Apperley Bridge and Kirkstall, which to include a flood storage reservoir, walls, sheet piling, earth bunds and scour protection.

Phase one of the scheme, which stretches from Leeds City Centre to Woodlesford, was finished in 2017, while a section between the city centre and Newlay Bridge was approved in 2019.

The plans were met with a warm reception by councillors, who praised work by council officers for bringing the plans forward.

Coun Dan Cohen said: “This is a really excellent proposal. It addresses a need but is done in a thought-out, sensitive and logical way. I am really impressed by this as a proposal.”

Coun Paul Wadsworth added: “The scheme has to be there to stop the water coming down. There are odd little bits we might not like in the construction stage – it’s never perfect when you’re constructing it, but when you look at the stuff in the city centre, it is good quality and it is doing a good job.

“When it all blends in, and when it is used it will do the job.”

The latest proposals include a 101-acre flood storage reservoir in rural land between Calverley, Horsforth and Rawdon. The site would also include banking and the “realignment of the River Aire”.

A series of reinforced concrete and steel sheet pile walls will be installed in areas around the Apperley Bridge end of the scheme, to mitigate the flood risk caused by the work.

It is hoped the work will provide a “one in 200 year” cover, meaning there would be a 0.5 percent chance of flooding in a given year.