Work on urban beck may finally end fears of flooding on estate

Residents in east Leeds will see work start on an urban beck which has flooded their homes three times in six years.

People living on the Dunhill estate area of Halton have been working with the Environment Agency for several years on the best option to tackle flooding from Wyke Beck.

Now, residents will see the outcome of their discussions when the Environment Agency's in-house workforce – the operations delivery team – starts deepening and widening the channel. Work is due to start on Monday next week and the channel improvements will cost about 150,000.

Environment Agency project manager John Woods said: "The beck cuts through the eastern suburbs of Leeds and, in some places, development has crept onto the channel which restricts the flow of water.

"This work will see structures and vegetation taken back to the beck's original position, and the channel's width will be doubled in some places.

"The scheme is the culmination of several years of work which will help to reduce flooding and the misery it brings for people on the Dunhill estate." Wyke Beck, which is a tributary of the River Aire, is crossed by several bridges which restrict the flow during storms.

The watercourse responds quickly during heavy rain which makes it more difficult for the Environment Agency to anticipate where problems may occur.

The Dunhill flood alleviation task group was set up to drive the plans forward and included about a dozen residents, as well as officers from Leeds Council and the Environment Agency.

Residents most vulnerable to flooding have also had doors and airbricks on their properties fitted with flood guards as a result of partnership funding. The channel widening, which is being funded by the Environment Agency, will take about eight weeks to complete.

Work on the channel will be a welcome relief to residents of the Dunhill estate, who have lived with the continued threat of more flooding in recent years.

In June 2007, a torrential downpour across West Yorkshire brought misery for residents of East Leeds when Wyke Beck flooded parts of Halton.

An emergency shelter for stranded residents had to be set up at the Fearnville Leisure Centre in Oakwood Lane. Dunhill Rise and Dunhill Crescent were badly hit. As nearly two-and-a-half inches of rain fell in just nine hours in some areas of Leeds – causing millions of pounds of damage in the city – Dunhill estate at Halton was among the worst hit areas.

More than 70 properties were flooded for the third time in as many years when Wyke Beck became swollen and eventually burst its banks.

The area was no stranger to the devastating effects of heavy rain after homes in the area were flooded in 2004 and 2005.

In May 2005, torrential rain and hail burst the banks of Wyke Beck and swamped dozens of homes with floodwater and sewage. Worst hit were Wykebeck Valley Road and Foundry Lane in Gipton and Dunhill Rise, Whitebridge Avenue and Whitebridge Spur at Halton.

Many of those affected were also flooded after a massive downpour on August 12 the previous year.

A joint report by Leeds Council and Yorkshire Water, published in March 2005, blamed extremely rare weather conditions, expected on average just once every 180 years, as the main cause of the flooding.

More than two inches of rain fell in just two hours and sewers and streams were unable to cope. The impact was made worse by fly-tipped rubbish which blocked watercourses.