New flood defence scheme for Leeds aims to improve biodiversity and water quality

After more than a decade of work, and an investment of £200m, last year finally saw the completion of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme - an infrastructure and engineering project designed to prevent events such as those of 2015 from ever happening again.

But now, a new project is soon set to launch which will seek to minimise the city’s flood risk even further, using natural flood defences to “future proof” Leeds, as well as improving biodiversity and water quality along the River Aire.

“2015 looms large in all this,” says Rob Horsley, project manager at The Aire Resilience Company.

“But even before then, Leeds had seen quite a significant number of flood events that had impacted the city centre and infrastructure, so the city was very much aware of the need for flood defences.

“But in 2015, the whole North of the UK was impacted, which led to a lot of new projects, and that's how Aire Resilience Company eventually came about.”

An idea first proposed in 2021, Leeds Aire Resilience Company is a new not-for-profit community interest company set to launch early this year.

The company will work with local businesses, land owners and farmers to implement natural flood defences, including the planting of trees and hedges in the upper Aire to improve soil conditions and alleviate the risk of flooding.

The approach is designed to enable the landscape to intercept and better absorb heavy rainfall, slowing it down and preventing it from running off the land and into the river system.

“A lot of this is around improving soil conditions as well, which has a win-win benefit for farmers,” says Dan Turner, technical expert – land management and market creation at the company.

“Much of our soil is degraded or has significant problems with compaction. What that has resulted in quite a lot of overland runoff, but if we can start improving the soil condition, that means we can naturally start to get more water going into the ground, and also improve yields and grass growing.”

The key to doing this, notes Dan, will be working constructively with farmers.

“Actually working with farmers to really understand their soils, understand how they can improve it, understand how they can increase water into their soils, is key to this,” he says.

“We’ve also got tree planting - we’ve got huge tree planting ambitions in the UK, but its about making sure those trees are put down in the right context and the right place to provide a benefit.

“Other wins are things like hedges, which play a really important role. A lot of our landscape was dominated by hedges, and a lot of them over the last few decades have disappeared.

“Not only do they create boundaries, they're also really effective in slowing that overland water flow and improving soil health - so getting a network of hedges back into our landscape - which also act as wildlife corridors - is a really exciting prospect.

“We’ve done a lot of work to make sure this is fit for purpose, we recognise that these interventions need maintenance and posting - we’re looking at entering into contracts with farmers to post and look after these interventions, so there's a monetary incentive there.”

In order to fund the work of Aire Resilience Company, the group is now looking for businesses to bring into its consortium.

"We're working with businesses, trying to bring them into the fold,” says Rob.

“They get the benefits from reduced flood risk, but also all the other benefits for nature-based solutions that will support their environmental and social governance targets, and they help provide the revenue that helps all the measures to be put in place.

“So in return for the benefits it brings, they as a consortium contribute to keep it all maintained and keep it ticking over and having an impact. Its a kind of a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

The the core project team for the Aire Resilience Company is made of colleagues from the Rivers Trust, Leeds City Council, the Environment Agency and Aire Rivers Trust.

"The Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme has brought state-of-the-art engineered defences to the city and provides an outstanding level of protection against flooding for everyone who calls Leeds home,” says Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development.

“However, due to the effects of climate change we also need a natural flood management scheme to slow the flow across the whole catchment to maintain our protection into the future. These natural methods also provide a wide range of benefits for those who manage the land, as well as the communities in Leeds - but they need to be maintained long into the future.

“The Aire Resilience Company brings a sustainable finance model that enables all of the Leeds businesses and organisations who benefit from the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme to contribute to its longevity. The Aire Resilience Company embodies the Team Leeds approach, where incredible things can be achieved through innovation and collaboration."