Bradford Council took the lead on a successful Local Levy bid for £187,000 from Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee for a WY FLIP project focused on Property Flood Resilience. This will mean that more homes at risk of flooding throughout West Yorkshire will become more resilient.
There are now 250 property level resilience surveys being carried out across the region as a result of the extra funding – 50 surveys per local authority area. This will involve working with communities to identify what more can be done to help both residential and business properties become more resilient to flooding. The findings of the surveys will be entered into the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Assured database.
One aim of the bid has been to highlight how PFR can be used as a proactive way of improving resilience at the household level when traditionally it has been seen as a reactive response following flood events.
The WY FLIP PFR project builds on work already carried out as part of an 18-month Yorkshire Property Flood Resilience DEFRA pathfinder project, led by iCASP, with recommendations from both the Ox Cam and South West pathfinders.
It resulted in the launch of a PFR Assurance Mapping Tool which highlighted what property level interventions could still be put into place for properties at flood risk. A project team is being set up to support the WY FLIP PFR project. The new funding will allow us to:
Property Flood Resilience measures include adaptations to individual homes and businesses to help communities more resilient to the impacts of a flood event where more traditional flood alleviation schemes are not technically or economically viable.
WY FLIP will continue the legacy of the ‘Be Flood Ready’ and Yorkshire Flood Resilience work led by JBA and City of York Council, which provides guidance and information about PFR to help homes and businesses.
