Photo by ALTERED SNAPS
Leaders of the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) have successfully secured almost £300,000 to help make the region more resilient by boosting the skills and capacity of those who manage flood risk.
They have been awarded £286,293 in levy funding from Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (YRFCC) to deliver a skills audit and training programme for Yorkshire Risk Management Authorities and their partners.
The YRFCC has also agreed to fund the management of WY FLIP by iCASP for a further two years as since it was launched in November 2021, the programme has already achieved £600k of investment and developed £1.6m in bids to help make the region more resilient.
Board members of the WY FLIP identified gaps in capacity and skills as a risk to delivering flood reduction and resilience benefits in the region.
Mark Wilkinson, WY FLIP Board Member and Team Leader for West Yorkshire Programme & Partnerships with the Environment Agency, said: “We are delighted to have secured this extra funding.
“A significant part of the risk is due to the very nature of the work that WY FLIP is seeking to promote and accelerate, such as innovative methodologies for water management solutions and projects to reduce flood risk, which require new or different skills.
“The extra funding will help us to upskill our workforce so that we can provide more resilient infrastructure, deliver projects which have a positive impact on the environment and address the challenges of climate change. This will ultimately result in greater support for businesses, landowners and economic benefits for the region and beyond.”
The new training programme will build on a previous scoping initiative carried out in 2017 – Skills Capacity and Resilience. It will focus on the new Flood Water Management Act Schedule 3 requirements for green skills associated with climate resilience and readiness.
The training will be delivered in conjunction with water@leeds – an interdisciplinary centre for water research based at University of Leeds.
The extra resource will support the development of ‘green skills’ and help reduce the increased risk of flooding due to climate change by working collaboratively amongst partners throughout the whole of Yorkshire.