YP Letters: Trees won't hide Leeds role in flood plains farce

An aerial photo shows the scale of the flooding damage in Leeds in December 2015. The Kirkstall Road area is featured.

TREES are always a welcome addition to any landscape, bringing improved air quality and protection against natural events such as flooding.

However, the announcement by Coun Judith Blake that Leeds Council is to plant trees as part of its “planned” flood protection measures (The Yorkshire Post, September 13) conveniently fails to mention how it is the council’s own ill-advised approvals for new building on flood plains that is actually contributing to the problem.

One well-publicised example is the current development at Moseley (Soggy) Bottom in Cookridge which, prior to its destruction, was a natural and much-needed soak-away that aided flood prevention.

On the one hand, the council’s approvals of such development contributes to the flooding, whilst, as a smoke screen to distract from reality, they plant trees at an “initial” cost of £3.4m. What a farce.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

OTHER than trees, what plans does Leeds Council have to ensure all new developments are flood-proofed from the outset to minimise the risk of damage in the future? It could be a national leader if it had sufficient foresight to plan ahead.