‘We’re better prepared - but threat is growing’ West Yorkshire leaders warn of rising flood risks

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said the Boxing Day floods had “brought devastating damage to thousands of homes and businesses” and left “a memory that still lives with us today”.

It comes as senior leaders from across West Yorkshire met this week to mark the tenth anniversary of the Boxing Day floods of 2015 - and discuss what more needs to be done to support communities.

She said: “When I first became Mayor, we set up the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Partnership - bringing together over 50 organisations, from councils and universities to the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water.

“Together, we’re taking bold action - investing in people, nature and infrastructure - to ensure that West Yorkshire is ready for the challenges of the future.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson, the government flood authority, said since 2015, it had ensured that homes and businesses at risk of flooding receive the best protection possible.

The spokesperson said: “In Calderdale we’re combining new engineering schemes with natural flood management to help make communities more resilient.

“With a changing climate, we can never completely prevent flooding. We urge people to be prepared.”

The Combined Authority has contributed £35m to flood schemes across the region, unlocking £262m in national and partner funding.

Projects include a £32m scheme in Brighouse to protect homes and restore wetlands, new defences on Sheepscar Beck in Leeds, and the £2m 'Landscapes for Water' programme across the South Pennines.

Coun Jane Scullion, leader of Calderdale Council and chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Climate Committee, said the 2015 floods marked a turning point in how the region understood and prepared for extreme weather.

She said: “One of the key things is we had a deeper understanding of what flooding meant in West Yorkshire rather than just taking it for granted.

“We developed a deeper analysis and understanding of how our whole river catchment works - from source to the final destinations."

Coun Scullion said the experience had forced councils, communities and agencies to rethink long-held assumptions about how flooding behaves in the region.

“We realised that flooding was no longer something that was just happening down in valley bottoms,” she said.

“You could be living on the tops and you could still be flooded because of the sheer volume of water coming down the hill.”

That new understanding has driven a dual approach of “hard engineering” - flood walls, pumps and barriers - alongside nature-based projects such as tree planting, sphagnum moss restoration and “leaky dams” designed to slow the flow of water from the hills.

“In Calderdale we’ve been growing sphagnum moss in our nurseries,” Coun Scullion said.

“Tree roots soak up an enormous amount of water, and we’ve been working with groups like 'Slow the Flow' on leaky dams and other nature-based solutions to give people more time to prepare.”

She also praised the way communities have learned to prepare and protect themselves since 2015.

“We had a very small number of flood wardens before the floods,” she said.

“The numbers are up to about 100 now. They keep people safe and, really importantly, they give the community assurance.”

But both leaders warned that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of floods.

“Sadly, flooding is not a one-off event,” Ms Brabin said.

“We know it’s only going to become more frequent. Here in West Yorkshire, we have 14,000 households at risk from rivers.”

Coun Scullion added: “Things are definitely better in Calderdale and in Mytholmroyd, but we’re not finished yet.”

While both leaders pointed to major investment and innovation since 2015, they warned that long-term funding remains critical.

Ms Brabin said West Yorkshire is “working with the government to push for more funding and support”.

She said: “This isn’t just about bricks and mortar. We know the stress and anxiety that flooding causes for families and businesses.

“And for communities living under the constant threat of flooding, that worry never really goes away.

“While we’re not able to eliminate the risk of flooding, or the risk of damage that it brings, we can heavily reduce it.

“If a storm on the scale of 2015 hit today, we would have better communication and warning to help residents prepare, and our flood defences and natural flood management would help to slow the water, reducing the impact on our towns and cities.”