Meanwood Beck flooding - Izaak's notes

A reminder that there is a Meanwood Beck flooding engagement event tomorrow, 4-6pm (drop in) at The Meanwood Institute.

Worth going even if not at risk - lots of interesting information about natural works being done all up the Meanwood Valley Trail to help prevent flooding and improve biodiversity.

Here's Izaak's notes from the first drop-in, last week:

🌊 Meanwood Flooding Engagement event, 5th March, Meanwood Institute

Over last 2 years council have been studying 20 different options and locations to reduce flood risk from Meanwood Beck

No ‘traditional’ / hard engineered options adequately reduce risk. Options explored included flood storage in Scotland Wood, Hollies, and Meanwood Park - all are either ineffective or cause unacceptable levels of environmental damage (a LOT of ancient woodland cut down) (or both)

Options at top of catchment such as Breary Marsh which can store lots of water don’t help the actually at risk properties in Meanwood, as as more flow enters between Scotland Wood and Mill Pond Grove

So the team is focused on:

1. providing a ‘Property Flood Resilience’ option to properties affected, e.g Monk Bridge Terrace. Funding for surveys has been found, if your property is at risk from flooding from the beck please take this up! You can email me on Izaak.wilson@leeds.gov.uk if you don’t have the details

2. ‘natural flood management’ to slow flow of water, improve habitat and water quality. Weetwood Labour Councillors have a project on these lines looking at the beck and pond between Grove Lane and MonkBridge Road

3. Experimental work with Meanwood Valley Urban Farm

4. Yorkshire Water are also looking to put in more sustainable urban drainage. I lobbied them in person as well as by email to do more investigating into why our sewers seem so faulty!