New research to examine how flooding affects the mental health of communities

Hundreds of people across West Yorkshire who live in communities at risk of flooding are being urged to take part in new research to help reduce the impact on the mental health of flood victims and provide them with the vital support they need. A large-scale online survey is being carried out by researchers at … Read more

Successful funding bid for Blue Green Demonstrator site

The plan to develop a Blue Green Demonstrator site at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm (MVUF) in Leeds to demonstrate the many benefits of Sustainable Urban Drainage (SuDS) is now one step closer to becoming a reality. Yorkshire Resilience Flood and Coastal Committee approved a £97,000 Local Levy bid from the  West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme Board to … Read more

Training rolled out to help improve the mental health of people at high risk of flooding

Around 100 local authority employees are being trained in a new project to help improve the mental well-being of people whose properties have flooded or at are risk of flooding. The Psychological First Aid Training will start this month and be delivered by specialist trainers Purple Dog to a diverse range of front-line staff including … Read more

Trailblazing project gets off the ground to improve the mental health of people at high risk of flooding

A successful bid for £36,000 is to be used to help improve the mental well-being of communities at risk of flooding. The bid for funding by West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WYFLIP) has been approved during the Environment Agency’s national Flood Action Week by Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. The money will be used … Read more

Could Meanwood Valley Farm be an ideal site to capture our imagination for what’s possible with Sustainable Drainage Systems? (SuDS)

Pictured: Participants take a tour of the Meanwood Valley Farm Members of West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WYFLIP) are currently exploring using Meanwood Valley Farm as a potential case study to demonstrate the many benefits of blue green infrastructure. Board member Vanessa Allen, principal engineer at Leeds City Council and Dr Sam Ramsden, impact translation … Read more

A network of digital sensors would be an ‘absolute dream’ for emergency planners during a flood incident – Mick Devine and Amy Boyd at Wakefield Council explain why.

Pictured: Flooding incident at Barnsdale Road Around 6,600 homes in the Wakefield district are permanently at risk of flooding from sudden storms. It’s actually surface water flooding that poses a bigger threat to the area than rising river levels as parts of the district’s drainage system could easily be overwhelmed by heavy rain. This is … Read more

Digital sensor workshops to discuss plans for early warning of flooding

Pictured: Paul Maddison, flood manager of Wakefield Council, presents at the workshop Plans to develop a network of digital sensors to give early warning of surface water flooding which is a real issue for West Yorkshire was the topic of a workshop held at University of Leeds. People who have had their homes flooded, flood wardens … Read more

Plans for a new digital solution to give early flood warnings  

Plans are underway to create a network of sensors across West Yorkshire to give people earlier warnings about the risk of surface water flooding. Board membersfromWest Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme have successfully bid for £97,000 from the Discovery Phase of round six of the Local Digital Fund to test whether using smart technology for such a … Read more