YP Letters: Plant more trees to help reduce risk of floods

WE are told that measures to make Leeds more resilient to flooding and help build new homes in the city are part of a bid for £109m of Government help for the West Yorkshire economy.

Many years ago a bather raised our awareness of the effects of putting something into water. Archimedes is famous for his exclamation eureka!, recognising that when he got into his bath the water level rose. It appears that planners haven’t yet reached that awareness.

They persist in approving building on wetlands such as Moseley (Soggy) Bottom in Cookridge, and seem surprised when the result is increased flooding.

Rather than find sites to develop which do not flood, it seems those in authority prefer to allocate public funds to ‘dealing with flooding’, whilst pouring more concrete into the pond.

Logic dictates this to be the wrong way round. Instead plant more trees, they will help to improve the environment, absorb water and won’t cost much.

If we need more ‘affordable’ housing (not large, expensive detached properties) then look to sites that might be suitable to create a new town, rather than dumping more houses in an already over-capacity city with flooding problems.